AG PODCASTERS
Marketing for Followers
Scheduled: February 8, 2021
You must be following @KtSchr0ck on Clubhouse in order to find the Room.
All things podcasting and, don’t worry, you don’t have to be an Ag podcaster or have a podcast - we are meeting to collaborate on marketing and tips. Join us every Monday at 9:00 am pst.
In today’s Clubhouse conversation we covered four great tips about how to market your ag podcast and, to be honest, you don’t hav to have an ag podcast specifically to be able to utilize these tips - they would work for any podcast!
Pitch to Other Podcasts
The number one reason to be on podcasts is that by getting your voice and brand in the ears of people already listening to podcasts is the best way to grow your own listenership. As an agriculturally based podcaster, there is a strong part of our demographic that isn’t as inclined as most of society to use technology. Finding those in the western lifestyle that are already listening to podcasts is a quick way to grow your podcast!
But how do you find the right podcast to pitch too?
The first thing about pitching to a podcast is to make sure you find the perfect podcast for you, your brand and the place to showcase your podcast is to do your research. Search your podcast on the iTunes store and then scroll down to the bottom where iTunes has graciously curated you a list of podcasts that your listeners also listen too. Click “See more” and write down the list that appears on a piece of paper or a Google Document.
Remember, we suggested that you do your research and do it thoroughly. Going through them one at a time, write down a list of ten episodes that you find interesting and “on” your brand. Listen to at least 3 of those episodes, taking notes of the interview style, the show style, and common questions asked.
From there, you can reach out to the top shows that you deem a good fit in a personable and relatable way.
Offering to do the Legwork
Sometimes, when pitching to a podcast that is bigger than yours but you know that they still do a lot of their own production and work, offer to do a collaboration show. Not only would you air the show on your podcast featuring them, but you would also send the edited show (lacking an intro and outro) for them to add their own intro and outro to before they publish. It’s a win-win for the both of you!
Pitching to a Celebrity, Influencer or Brand
A great way to grow your show following is by getting a guest with a large social media following, the more cult like, the better! Having an idea of the topic or the outline of your show prior to talking to the guest is a great way to get a positive answer to your request.
Thank You Packets
Once you have pitched to the guest, sometimes there is a fear that they won’t even share about being on the show, which will limit you getting in front of their dedicated following unless they already lived in the real estate found in the center of your societal Venn diagram. While this won’t ruin the purpose of having this guest on, it will greatly hinder the original goal and reason that you pitched to them!
Creating a “Thank You” packet, ready to be emailed to the guest at a variety of checkpoints is a great way to ensure that sharing the show to their followers is as few of clicks and effort on their part as possible - similar to the suggestion of producing the show for the bigger podcast.
Here are some items that can be in that email:
Pre-formatted Audio Clip (this can be just a sound bite OR a WAV over a photo)
Always ask for high resolution photos from the guest that fit with your brand, don’t be afraid to say “three-quarter well lit head shot” if that is how you typically announce a new show. Then send them the copy of your show announcement.
Create a fun “coming soon” post.
Create other graphics and assets that they can share on their social media.
Send over the podcast blog URL (we suggest creating those to always be the same).
EX: www.thatwesternlife.com/podcast/episode56When the show is live, you can share a “tap to play” button directly fo the episode from Spotify to your Instagram story, tagging the guests and those in the industry - allowing them to put that on their own story with just the click of a button! Spotify is also accessible across all phones, not limited to one carrier or the other!
Do you feel like that is out of your skill range? It’s not! You just haven’t found the right tools! Here’s a few you can use for little to no cost!
Canva - Great for graphic creation.
WAVVE - for creating those nifty sound bites over your graphic… that you maybe made in Canva winkwink
Google Calendar - We utilize this to send over a calendar appointment for the day that the guests show goes LIVE. You can then update the description to include links to all the photos and details for the show! You can EVEN go above and beyond to include a few prompts!
Make sure to promote to your fans as well, utilizing an email service like FloDesk (you can get a discount if you go HERE).
Leveraging Groups
No matter the topic, there is always a Facebook group with tens of thousands of ready-to-listen to your podcast fans - you just need to be able to reach them! And here’s how you do it:
Make sure you are in the group for at least 30-90 days. Get an understanding of group trends, typically questions, etc. to ensure that the group is appropriate for you and your show. Again, we are big proponents of doing your research in order to accurately “read the room,” even if it is virtually!
Get to know the Admins and moderators of the group - you can find this by clicking on the “Members” tab of the Facebook group. Check out their profiles and we encourage even looking them up on LinkedIn if they have. Pitch to this group Admin, the gatekeeper of the group, in regards to being on your show in the same manner that you reached out to the Celebrity Guests, Influencer, or Brand Personnel.
The Thank You packets will help to encourage the Admin/Moderator to share with their Facebook group.
From there, you can reach out to other Admins OR, because you have built the relationship, you can reach out to the Admin and get permission to post a call-to-action in the group regarding a topic. Something like, “Hey, I am the host of XYZ podcast that we were SO thankful to have <group name> Admin <admin’s name> on here recently! We got his/her permission to reach out on here to find out what is the best advice you ever received?” OR “Craziest story you have about life on the farm?” “Weirdest question you have been asked?” “Scariest moment you survived?” You get the drift! Then you can share all of these episodes on the show and share those links back on to that post and into the group when it is live!
Leverage Co-Hosts
Our podcast has had a natural transition of co-hosts over the years but has consistently maintained two hosts through all three of it’s seasons. With that being said, we have naturally included a new field reporter each year, each with a unique niche talent and knowledge, plus amazing following. Each year we have grown our show immensely with their talents while they were also able to subsequently grow their own brand. If co-hosts are an option, bringing in a host for a series or a season could be a great opportunity for you AND allow for you to split the workload for creating show outlines and/or booking guests.
Tips from Tim Hammerich, Future of Agriculture Podcast
Tim was so great to jump into this Clubhouse conversation and shared insight on a co-host collaboration that he had. Partnering with someone that hosted and curated his favorite industry newsletter, they were able to give audio interviews to guests that they really wanted to chat with, while also joining Tim on his podcast’s topic and industry conversations. A win-win for both individuals, this partnership was able to grow as Tim had access to be seen on their newsletter, while they had the opportunity for Tim’s listeners to learn about their newsletter!
Collaborations and partnerships are the name of the game and whether that be with another podcast, a Facebook group, a newsletter or so many other options, it is a great for both groups in the collaboration!
Robust Show Notes - More Tips from Tim!
A lot of people start podcasting because they don’t want to blog - if you’re thinking of starting a podcast because of this mantra, then DON’T! Why? Because it’s the biggest myth when it comes to podcasting that no copywriting is needed. Show notes are vitally important to your podcast and, when done correctly, can grow your following tremendously. If your show notes has the right text in it, it will show up in the Google search when people are looking up your guest, their brand, or the topic of the show.
Katie’s Additions
Western Insights Media and That Western Life co-host Katie Schrock adds in validation to this statement, saying that during the National Finals Rodeo, their podcast was found by a surprising number of new listeners because people were searching to see if the television broadcaster had a wife! Additionally, Katie starts the top of each of her show blogs with a bit.ly link to subscribe to the show, followed by an audio “hit play” version of the podcast so that those who may not be as technologically savvy or only use a home computer can listen directly from the blog that is sent into their email inbox whenever it is published via your email list.
Bonus Tip
A bonus tip shared by Nikki with an equestrian podcast was her ability to get onto a niche-specific industry hosting platform. In her case, that was the Horse Radio Network. Before getting a hosting site for your show, look to see if anything like that exists for your niche or industry that you can join with as they will already be filled with a variety of listeners ready to hit play on your show when you launch!