We’re big believers in the power of blogging for your business – our blog is one of our biggest sources of web traffic, and your blog should be too! Having a successful blog relies just as much on promoting your posts as it does on creating great content. Our last Edgar Learn post showed how to use your email list to bring readers to your blog, which is one part of an effective strategy. Today we’re going to look at how to promote your blog (and your site in general) by upping your podcast game.
We’ll tell you why you should get into podcasts, how to start scheduling appearances, and how you can promote your podcast appearances. Sound good? Let’s dig in.
Why Podcasts Matter
There are a TON of benefits to establishing a podcast presence. It’s a growing medium, with almost 21% of all people over the age of 12 listening to podcasts on a monthly basis. For some perspective, that happens to be the same size as the portion of the population using Twitter, and we all know how important it is to be on Twitter.
There are as many people listening to podcasts as there are using Twitter.
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So the audience is there, and it’s ready to connect with you. If you’ve been reading these Edgar Learn posts, you know how much we value the formula “Know, Like, Trust” (KLT for short). If you’re new to Edgar Learn, here’s the gist: before someone makes a purchase from your site, they want to know, like, and trust you. The more important the purchase decision – the higher the price, the longer the contract, the more sensitive the work, etc – the more KLT you need to earn with them first.
Well guess what? The candid, conversational nature of podcasts are the perfect medium to help your audience know, like, and trust you. They even get to hear your voice, which goes a long way in reminding them that you are a living, breathing human being, not just a webpage or a brand.
Along the same line, podcasts are also a great place to tie your personal story to your company. Spend some time talking about yourself and your journey – tell the tale of how you got to where you are – and you’ll not only build upon the KLT factor with existing fans, but draw in a new audience who identifies with what you have to say.
Best of all, podcasts let you do all of this with a relatively small investment of your time. Filling up a few minutes of airtime on a podcast hardly takes any time at all when compared to writing guest posts, managing email campaigns, and other ways to promote your blog! And once a podcast is released, it doesn’t go away! It will remain out there online, perpetually generating traffic for you. And you know how much we love perpetually generated traffic!
As if you’re still not convinced about the value of podcasts, here’s the cherry on top: there’s an SEO benefit to the links they generate to your site! So not only are podcasts effective and relatively easy, but they’re good for you too, which is why many internet marketers refer to podcasts as the tasty vegetables of the online world. (Note that nobody refers to podcasts, or anything else, as the tasty vegetables of the online world – but you get the point.)
How to Promote Your Blog On a Podcast
Now that you know why you should be doing them, here’s how to start your podcasting strategy. It’s a simple, three-step process:
Find relevant podcasts, pitch your appearances, start booking!
You may already follow some podcasts that are relevant to your particular area of expertise… and if not, you should start! Of course iTunes is the go-to source for all things podcast, but they’re not the only game in town. Here are a few favorites of Team Edgar:
Start listening to as many relevant podcasts as you can, and pick a few favorites. Put together a list of a half dozen or so that you’d like to appear on, and start reaching out to them.
When pitching a podcast appearance, explain why you’d be a good guest and what you’d bring to the conversation; establish yourself as an expert. After all, you’re guaranteed to have a unique perspective to share, right? It’s also a good idea to remind the host of the podcast why you’ll help them reach a new and relevant audience – remember that you’re helping them as much as they’re helping you!
And, as with all things that involve getting your content to appear on someone else’s site, don’t get discouraged by rejection! Just keep at it, and you’ll find yourself appearing on podcasts sooner rather than later. And the more appearances you rack up, the easier it becomes to get even more.
Promoting your podcast appearances
After you’ve had your superstar moment and appeared in a podcast, it’s vital that you let your audience know about it! Not only do they intrinsically want to share in your success, but chances are that they’ll want to share it with friends who might not already know who you are. Sharing your podcast appearance also helps drive traffic to the podcast page, which in turn helps you get invited back.
Tag the podcast host and any other guests who were on the show with you. They’ll likely respond to you or rebroadcast your post, which helps put your name in front of their audience.
Similarly, it’s important to engage with anyone mentioning your appearance. The more you interact online, the more likely you are to bring in traffic both to your podcast appearance and your site.
And the more your podcast appearance is listened to, the more traffic you’ll end up sending back to your own site!
This post is part of our Edgar Learn series, where we share the strategies that helped us find success! For more from Edgar Learn, click here!
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