Mark Randall is a video producer for ReminderMedia. He’s also the primary producer of Stay Paid, and he’s played a major role in making the show what it is today.

Today, Mark steps in front of the microphone to discuss why you need to create your own podcast (and how easy it is to get started).

Key Points

• Podcasts are a cost-effective content marketing solution.
• It’s easier to start a podcast than most people think.
• There are so many ways you can use podcasts to grow your business.

The Benefits of Having a Podcast

Podcasts are easy and inexpensive to produce. 80 percent of listeners will listen the whole way through, which means you’ll most likely have a receptive audience.

Having a podcast will position you as subject matter authority. People buy from people who they look up to, believe in, and trust. A podcast is a great way to get you to that point.

For a real estate agent in a small town, doing a podcast is a great investment. Depending on the size of your community, you might be the only agent in your town hosting a podcast. Remember: your goal is to connect with the community you serve. A podcast can be an effective way to do this.

Podcasts are also great for generating content. From a podcast episode, you can come up with an idea for a blog post. You might create an infographic or a video snippet, which gives you something else to share with your email newsletter audience.

Another benefit that’s overlooked is that podcasts are an amazing networking tool. You’ll have an opportunity to connect with businesses in your local community—exposing them to your audience while they direct people to listen to your show.

If you’re an agent, have a mortgage agent on to share their expertise. You could even talk about investing, flipping, or any other types of transactions you might specialize in. Upload the video to YouTube and get local traffic from Google. Those local listeners and viewers will turn into buyer and seller leads.

How to Start a Podcast

You can create podcast episodes on a variety of topics and then use them throughout your marketing process to provide value and draw in customers.

Some podcast ideas you can use:

• Real estate agents interviewing clients at the closing.
• Provide regular market updates.
• Topics for first-time home buyers.
• Home improvement ideas to increase ROI (partner with local contractors).
• Interview local movers and shakers.
• Talk about unique places in your community.
• Be a guest on podcasts hosted by other people.

Bonus idea: host a podcast about your hobbies or interests, and you’ll never run out of things to talk about. You can talk exclusively about your hobbies but sponsor the show with your real estate business. That way, you make people aware of your brand while drawing in casual listeners interested in other topics.

In order to start a bare-bones podcast, you only need:

• A subject/general theme.
• An iPhone and a pair of headphones.
• Anchor

Podcast Art

You’ll need artwork for platforms such as iTunes and Spotify, as well as to promote your podcast on the web and social media. Here are a few ways you can get a logo:

• Ask someone you know who is a graphic designer.
• Visit remindermedia.com.
• Use a site like fiverr.com.

Podcast Music

You’ll want to have music that can play at the beginning and end of each episode. Websites like AudioJungle and Soundstripe offer royalty-free music that you can license.

If you find images or music that have a Creative Commons 0 license, you are free to use them anywhere, completely free of charge.

Getting Your Podcast on iTunes

How do you get your podcast on iTunes? The great thing about most podcast hosting platforms is that they do all the work for you. Simply record and upload your podcast episodes, and your host takes care of the rest.

Taking Your Podcast to the Next Level

If you’re willing to spend a little money, you can take some simple steps to improve the quality and potential reach of your podcast.

• Get a pair of $20–30 microphones.
• Plug it into a laptop and use Audacity to record.
• Visit Libsyn and sign up for podcast hosting.

To go even further:

• Get better microphones. (Stay Paid uses $80–90 microphones.)
• Create a video version of your podcast.
  • Our Mevo camera allows automatic switching between guests.
  • If someone is not in the same room as you, use Skype or another type of video conferencing software. (We use OBS to record video streams.)

Monetizing Your Podcast

Making money directly from a podcast is difficult. It’s not as easy as YouTube, where you can make money directly from ads. Once you start to get more popular, you can earn ad revenue through Midroll.

Even if you don’t make a dime directly from your podcast, the networking opportunities, credibility, and content possibilities make it worth your investment. Your brand is your money. Podcasts make you appear significant and omnipresent. People will know, like, and trust you. This builds authority, which gets you in the position where someone will buy from you.

ReminderMedia recently had a client sign up who saw a link to Stay Paid in their account manager. They asked why we were promoting this podcast without realizing we produced it. As it turned out, they had heard the ad for one of our e-books on the podcast and signed up without putting two and two together.

Ultimately, your podcast is a branding tool. People come to our website on a buyer’s journey, then go to our podcast page, then back to our product page. People will review our content before deciding to make a purchase. Your customers will do this to learn more about you.

Action Items:

• For the next two weeks, start experimenting with Instagram Stories. Document your day, and get a feel for what hosting a podcast could be like.

Download our free e-book:

Small Business Podcasting: The Ultimate Starter’s Guide