Tips to Start a Podcast for your Business (Beginners)

Today I'm going to dig into nine easy tips for starting your own podcasts to grow your business, including the equipment you'll need, free software to use, and even some AI tools to help you out. First things first, you've got to determine your niche. What specific topic do you want to cover? The more specific the better, especially if the purpose is to promote or expand your business. Podcasts range from news to comedy to true crime to entertainment, but for our purposes, we're focusing on business. This is important because there are 150 million people in the US that listen to a podcast at least once a month and there are a hundred million people that listen at least once a week. That's a huge opportunity for your business to reach new ears and a demographic that statistically has some discretionary income talking some extra cheese for that manchego that you got going on. You know what I'm saying? One of my personal favorite is is the official Trader Joe's podcast Inside Trader Joe's. Who doesn't love TJ's? They got the best snacks. I mean, except for their parking lots. But that's a whole nother video. In and of itself. Inside Trader Joe's is a deep dive into their company culture that offers transparency to their customers and ultimately humanizes the brand. It's honestly quite brilliant. Tip number two is to identify your ideal listener. Who are you trying to reach with your show? Some things to consider are age, income, geographic location, hobbies, and occupation. When you're crafting your ideal listener, think about what other podcasts they might be listening to and what does that tell you about what they want to hear? According to Business Insider, the typical TJ's customer is between 25 to 44 years old, college educated, married, and earning about 80k a year. It's a safe bet their ideal listener falls into the same category. Research shows their listeners also listen to other food related podcasts about recipes, chefs and nutrition. Now, before we get into the next couple tips, I want to mention that HubSpot's got a great how to guide for creating podcasts that includes details on everything we're talking about today in one easy reference document. It's something we refer back to all the time. Making our own podcasts like Working against the Grain and My First Million and I genuinely cannot recommend it enough, so check it out. It's especially crucial for this next tip. Tip number three Spend some time brainstorming a variety of four to seven content buckets that relate to your show's theme. Inside Trader Joe's does this super well. There are special looks at seasonal items or new products, shopping hacks and tips, Q&As with TJ executives and employees, and really nitty gritty inside baseball type stuff on more in depth topics like why TJ's only has a brick and mortar location with no online retail, or why they don't offer a loyalty program. Whatever you land on, remember that listeners are people who want to spend time with your brand, so keep them engaged with intriguing content that will keep them coming back for every new episode. Easy to say, sure, but how do you make sure that each episode is that engaging? That's tip number four. Use the pass formula. That's Present, Ask, Share and Sway. You wanna present information that allows your community to come to their own conclusions, even if it's simple. You wanna ask questions to spark the conversation like Are the new Trader Joe's Pumpkin Mochi something I wanna buy? The answer is yes, as always. What's a product that's never gotten the pumpkin spice treatment that you're dying to try? Always share what the community is saying. What do the listeners think? Read their emails and engage with their voicemails. Finally, sway frequently react to what's going on around you and in the community. Be dialed in on their needs and interests. Show them that you're not just broadcasting, but you're also listening. I was joking earlier about how awful TJ's parking lots are, but guess what? Inside Trader Joe's tackled that subject because they know their community is talking about it and by addressing it, they're building trust with their audience. Nice. By now you should be ready for tip number five. Maybe it's obvious, but name your podcast. It could be related to your business, like Inside Trader Joe's or something clever and new, but make sure you do a thorough search that it's not already taken or trademarked. With some things, a simple Google search might suffice, but if you want to be extra thorough, you can visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office's website and do a search that will tell you if there are any existing trademarks on your name. And once you've got it squared away, it's time for tip number six, my friend. Creating your podcast artwork. Typically, it's a 3,000 by 3,000 pixel square image with easy to read branding. You don't have to be a graphic design expert either. You can use Canva to easily create something that looks pretty great. Inside Trader Joe's is as straightforward as it gets. It's literally just the TJ's logo that's instantly recognizable to anyone who shops there, plus the word inside tip number seven prioritize your sound quality there's nothing worse than queuing up a podcast and getting a bunch of popping or tinny microphones, but all it really takes is your computer, headphones and a decent mic. Even just your standard earbud microphones are pretty quality these days, but you can get a more professional option like the Blue Snowball MIC for about 50 bucks, and recording software like GarageBand is included with your Mac. Or you can download Audacity for free if you're a PC user. And if you want some assistance from AI, you can take advantage of low cost tools like Adobe Podcast AI or Audio Enhancer AI to clean up your audio with ease. Super powerful tools. The point is, you don't have to invest a lot of money to get a great sounding podcast these days, and once you're set up with equipment, you want to make sure you're recording in a quiet room with headphones on and speaking directly into your mic. Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget to turn off fans or or close windows. Tip number eight Distributing your podcast There are a lot of services that will create your podcast feed for you. If you're not an expert in RSS coding, platforms like Trent Libsyn and Podbean will distribute your show across major podcast platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. There's typically a small hosting fee, but it's worth the money you'll save on Tylenol without any of those headaches. But don't forget creating short clip versions for social platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. It's a great, great way to promote your show. And never underestimate the value of putting the whole thing on YouTube, even if it's just audio. Looking at Inside Trader Joe's stats on Refonic, they've got over 26,000 subscribers on YouTube alone and over 80 million views. That's a lot of shoppers and potentially YouTube ad revenue. And finally, tip number nine if there's anything you take away from this video, let it be this, because this is the most important. Consistency Nothing kills a podcast's momentum faster than an inconsistent schedule. Whether it's daily, weekly, or quarterly, your listeners are relying on your show to deliver at the cadence you promised. Publishing at least once a week increases the chances of listeners making you a part of their listening routine, so keep that in mind as you build your schedule. Plan in advance and make sure you have multiple episodes ready to go before you even launch. Okay, you've got a solid idea and are ready to launch. What are some common mistakes when you're just starting out in the world of podcasting? Number one not setting reasonable expectations. Before you hit publish, you've got to remember that chances are you're not going to be an overnight success. And that's okay. If your brand isn't as ubiquitous as something like Trader Joe's, it might be a slow climb for your subscriber numbers, so make sure your performance goals are in line with the reality of your situation. As with most things in business, growth takes time. Number two not repurposing your content. You've done the legwork of writing a great episode or interviewing on an interesting subject, so take advantage. Turn it into a long form, blog on your website or parse snippets out as a snackable social post. There are even available AI tools to help you do this. Vizard, Flowjet, or Choppity will all simplify the clipping process for you. Mistake number three not marketing your podcast. Use SEO best practices to create episodes on topics that people are interested in and use your company's blog or social accounts to promote the podcast. Consider cross promotion with other podcasts or related blogs. Bring the listeners to you and don't just rely on organic discovery. Mistake number four not tracking your metrics. As you publish episodes, you should be keeping your eye on two primary metrics, monthly downloads and downloads per episode. These numbers will help you when it comes time to land high profile guests or to court sponsors. Which leads me to mistake number five not monetizing your podcast. Whether it's sponsorship or affiliate marketing, podcasts are a popular platform for advertising and a great, great way to make some extra income for your business. While you may not get a sponsor to pay you for a mention right off the bat, a lot of affiliate links at places like Audible, Stamps.com or Blue Apron are typically commission based and widely available to use even if you're just starting out. So as you can probably tell, creating a podcast is a lot of work. But is it actually worth starting a podcast for your business? Short Answer Absolutely. Here are some rapid fire reasons why 1. It is a lot of work, but it's accessible, it's fun and it's very budget friendly. 2. It's an additional evergreen income system for your business if you monetize correctly. 3. It allows you to generate leads for your primary business even if you're not explicitly plugging it. After all, the Trader Joe's podcast isn't necessarily selling me individual products every week, yet I'm still stocking up on their dark chocolate peanut butter cups every day. 4. It's a great way to connect with your customers and show them that you're listening. And five It's a valuable method of establishing establishing your business. As an expert in your field, customers will spend more time with companies they trust so genuinely. What are you waiting for? Podcasts are a powerful marketing tool with global reach that is within your grasp, my friend. All you've got to do is get started. Don't forget to check out HubSpot's free podcast guide for all the resources you'll need to take your show from concept to launch. I'd love to hear about your experience creating a podcast in the comments below. And don't forget to like and subscribe to HubSpot. Subscribe for more marketing tips and tricks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I got to make a Trader Joe's run. I think we both know what I'm going to be getting there. And until then, I'll see you next time I can find this client info have you heard of HubSpot? HubSpot is a CRM platform so it shares its data across every application. Every team can stay aligned. No out of sync spreadsheets or dueling databases. HubSpot grow better.