I spent £2,260 to learn the following so you don’t have to.
On the 4th March 2020, I launched Entrepreneurs Can Party. Just 6 days later, it was featured in the top 10 of the U.K. Apple Podcast charts for entrepreneurship.
I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s given me the opportunity to speak with many dream guests, including Travis Marziani, and I’ve helped other businesses successfully launch their own podcasts. This includes MyProtein’s The Scoop which has already hit over 5,000 downloads in its first week.
Sounds easy, right?
Truth be told, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I had no previous experience, and although I work in SEO, this doesn’t really help.
That’s why I decided to take my own Tim-Ferriss-like MBA. I wanted to learn from some of the world’s most successful podcasters to give Entrepreneurs Can Party the best chance of success.
To this end, I’ve spent £2,260 on one-off costs pre- and post-launch. My ongoing monthly costs are £120. It’s all detailed in this extensive blog post.
As for all the hours spent researching, taking courses, producing episodes, guesting on other podcasts, hiring a virtual assistant, promoting my show — well, I couldn’t tell you. It’s a lot.
Here’s the punchline, though. I didn’t need to spend this much.
Here are 4 lessons I’ve learned over the last 12 months which I want to share with you today so you can skip the learning curve and save yourself a small fortune.
Lesson #1: Podcast listeners listen to podcasts
Last February, I spent £400 on a 30-minute phone call.
It wasn’t a trick. I wanted this call. The man I spoke to is one of the highest-earning podcasters in the world. Since launching his in 2012, John Lee Dumas has interviewed some of the world’s greatest minds and his podcast is now a 7-figure business.
One of the points John made is podcaster listeners listen to podcasts.
Of course, this is ridiculously obvious. The point he was making is in order to get your word out about your podcast, preferably before launching, it’s a good idea to guest appear on as many podcasts relating to your niche as possible.
To hammer this point home, he shared with me his online calendar. It was a Tuesday. Following our call, he had a further eight lined up with podcasts he was going to be guesting on.
Eight.
This guy is at the top of his game and he’s still putting in the reps every single day. I have no excuse, so one of my focuses has been guesting on other podcasts. I’ve appeared on over 30 to date. After delivering a knockout appearance, I leave just one CTA at the end of every guest podcast appearance I make:
“I appreciate tuning into a brand new podcast can be a big investment of time. This is why I’ve put together a special landing page so you can get taste of Entrepreneurs Can Party without the huge commitment! If you’re interested, visit scottstockdale.co.uk/trailer. Here, you’ll find a 90 second trailer of my podcast and a bunch of free resources, including how to rank in the top 10 of Apple Podcasts in 6 days.”
Lesson #2: Launch with a MINIMUM of 3 episodes
My mentor suggested releasing 6 or 7. The logic here is that if someone listens to your podcast and you’ve only got one episode, you’ll only register 1 download. Launch with 6, you could get 6 times as many downloads.
However, I have a slightly different approach.
I believe we podcast listeners are ‘completists’. We like to finish what we’re listening to. Launch with too many episodes and you run the risk of overwhelming listeners before you even get going. As such, I only launched with 3 episodes, plus my trailer.
The trailer should detail who the podcast is for, what listeners will learn, how often episodes are released and any headline guests featuring in upcoming episodes (if any).
Lesson #3: Gather as much feedback from your listeners as possible
When people give feedback about your podcast, reach out to them. Try and get them on a 5 minute call and ask the following questions:
- What do you like about the podcast? — This gives you a sense of what to focus on.
- What don’t you currently like about the podcast? — Encouraging listeners to answer honestly is crucial. When I ask this question, I make it clear their feedback will help and I wouldn’t ask the question if I was afraid of the answer.
- How did you find out about my podcast? — This can give you a steer on marketing efforts (i.e. whether to guest on more podcasts, produce more blog posts, leave comments on social media etc.)
- What problems are you facing right now? — If you’re looking to monetize your podcast, this questions gets you thinking about what products and services you can share with your listeners that solve their problems. And you don’t have to create these products yourself. For example, if many of your listeners struggle to keep on top of business finances, you could bring a sponsor onboard for your podcast that specialises in cloud accounting software.
Lesson #4: Momentum is just as important as the numbers
To rank in the Apple Podcast charts, you need downloads and reviews. Just as importantly, you need consistent downloads for each episode you release.
This signals to Apple that your podcast has momentum and is trending in the right direction.
For example, if you get 40 reviews one week after launching but 0 over the next, this could signal to Apple your podcast isn’t holding the attention of listeners. As a result, your podcast will slide down the charts.
How do you build this momentum?
Ask your network to subscribe when they listen. This way, they’ll be notified every time you release a new episode, just like on YouTube.
How should you ask for reviews?
I knocked up a quick Excel spreadsheet and sent DMs to 30 people in my network every single day post-launch until I exhausted my network. The spreadsheet tracked who I contacted, what platform I contacted them on and whether they responded.
I was also quite tactical as to when I contacted people. I figured my closest friends wouldn’t need much prompting so I contacted them first. From here, I gradually moved further and further from my core friends to people with who I’ve struck up connections with on Instagram and LinkedIn.
As a rule of thumb, 10% of the people you reach out to will probably leave a review. In other words, if you’re looking to get 100 reviews, you’ll probably need to ask 1,000 people.
Takeaways
I’ve spent a lot of money to learn lessons you can pick up online for free. I’m well aware of that.
However, I always think it’s good to “hear from the horse’s mouth”, so to speak. I’d rather listen to advice from someone who’s got to where I want to go rather than a random Joe Bloggs.
The above lessons, although important, are all quite tactical. When it comes to growing a podcast which attracts thousands of downloads, here are 2 additional points to consider:
- How is your podcast different to what already exists?
- Are you going to be consistent with episode releases? If you say you’re releasing an episode every Wednesday, make sure you do. This will generate trust with your listeners.
Perhaps most importantly of all, check your intentions. Nobody got rich from podcasting overnight, so if you’re in it for the dollar, maybe consider something else. There are much easier ways to make money online.
The conversations I have with entrepreneurs are the highlights of my weeks so I don’t mind the countless late nights I spend working on my pod. So much so, I can’t imagine my life without them.
I wish the same for you.