Book Notes : Narrow Podcasting

Make Profitable Connections and Grow your Business, Without Paid Ads, Sponsors, or Thousands of Listeners

This post is part of my book notes and summary series, a set of notes I make on my read books to help me recall and remember points I find most useful.

This book is Narrow Podcasting : Make Profitable Connections and Grow your Business, Without Paid Ads, Sponsors, or Thousands of Listeners

Book Summary (in 3 lines)

Stop caring about vanity metrics (listens), instead look at the podcast as a revenue generator (we’ve been doing 50% of this).
“Post podcast moment” – If you have given your guests a good “listening to” they will be in a receptive listening mode and open to your suggestions more than they would have been at the start of the conversation – use this wisely.
Connecting personally – both during the podcast via memory based questions and as part of an “alumni” network is a great way to build deeper relationships that drive revenue.

How this book changed me?

Absolutely – although we’ve been thinking of our podcast as a great “networking” tool, we’ve still been measuring ourselves on the vanity metrics of listens etc. Its not that these metrics are not an important measure, but instead we should be giving more weighting to 1:1 engagements and comments from listeners and clients.

This book has also changed our approach to guests, both who we book (more prospects and guests that can refer us), and how we follow up afterwards (pod podcast asks and alumni network). I look forward to introducing these into our process and learning what impact this drives moving forward.

Should you read this book?

If you have a podcast, especially in the B2B space, I would highly recommend this book. Podcasts are – and always will be – difficult to track, and its easy to get caught up in the “content creator” vanity cycle. This will help you to add structure to your podcast that drives an outcome for your business or marketing campaign.

Top 3 Quotes

The way to generate income is giving your guests a good listening to and then leveraging those relationships to grow your business. LOCATION: 493

This is a good “reset” on why we are doing this. This isn’t about our own personalities, but about giving out guests a “good listening to” and leveraging that good will to build deeper relationships.

They’re an existing client of or prospect for you/your business. 2. They’re a powerful referrer, either for somebody you specifically want to be referred to or because they have a network you’d love to have access to. 3. They’re a potential joint venture partner for you. LOCATION: 506

This helps to summarise which guests you should be booking. Not to say you can’t go outside of this and experiment, but this provides a good structure to assess against.

Email 1 – Thanks for your time (sent immediately after the interview). Email 2 – Let them know when the podcast is about to go live and include episode art. Email 3 – Let them know how it’s been received and include quote post. Email 4 – Let them know you still think of them often and further prove your value with intros, include audiogram. LOCATION: 1450

The final email positions you as THE person to know in their network. You’re giving the most impressive and remarkable social media asset to them in the form of an audio post. Secondly, you are building your relational capital by offering to connect them personally with someone you know and suspect they want to know. LOCATION: 1520

Following up after the podcast is important – this provides a great structure, but also some value that positions their time on the podcast as being part of a wider network.

Summary and Notes

The reason you should love podcasting is because it gives you and your business the opportunity to go narrow and get in there with the right people, create a meaningful connection, and find the business you want. LOCATION: 223

Good reset on why we are doing this podcast – not vanity metrics!

If your podcast is ever going to fly, have all these assets at the ready: 1. A freebie your potential clients and listeners can get in exchange for their email address 2. A website to host your freebie, podcast, and products and services on 3. Clear services and/or products you sell. You are a business owner, after all … LOCATION: 298

We need to have a clearer CTA as part of each episode. Although we may not have a deliverable – we should be linking through to the most relevant asset.

Two great websites detailing the latest podcast-listening trends are podcastinsights.com and edisonresearch.com. LOCATION: 424

Useful to check trends

Guests

The way to generate income is giving your guests a good listening to and then leveraging those relationships to grow your business. LOCATION: 493

Generally – a good way to think about it!

They’re an existing client of or prospect for you/your business. 2. They’re a powerful referrer, either for somebody you specifically want to be referred to or because they have a network you’d love to have access to. 3. They’re a potential joint venture partner for you. LOCATION: 506

Which guests to pick – ensure we use this!

Podcast Ep Titles

When you have a guest, always include their name in the episode title. Simply take your headline and add “with Guest Name.” It helps with search results online and puts the spotlight on the person that matters. LOCATION: 585

Need to include guest name in the titles.

“Toward” or “Gain” headlines will often start with “How to…” or “Discover.” “Away from” or “Threat” headlines are designed to induce fear of missing out (FOMO) and can start with prefixes such as “Do you recognize,” “Why you shouldn’t,” or even “Do not.” LOCATION: 590

Ideas on titles

Structuring the podcast

avoid the “Hi everyone” trap because it’ll never be as personal and connect as powerfully as “Welcome, thanks for joining me.” LOCATION: 612

Connect personally!

The whole point is for the guest to have a great time. LOCATION: 660

that’s your opener. Let’s break it down. a) It opens (and closes) with the name of the guest. This puts them at center stage, not you, and this will encourage your guest to share the podcast from the get-go. People like us care way more about this than the number of listens. LOCATION: 797

It creates intrigue around a specific result and elicits an emotion when it mentions the competitor. c) It creates a “pattern interrupt” that makes people super curious. What on earth has swimming got to do with brand design? By throwing a curveball, your opener helps change your listener’s natural pattern of thought. When you get it right, it’ll keep them listening. d) It excites the listener with a hint about a three-point system that solves a specific problem, which suggests it will be a value-packed episode. LOCATION: 800

Introduce personal elements into the podcast to add intrigue

“What do you feel listeners will find most useful about our conversation?” LOCATION: 810

Metrics / Whats important for us?

When you connect with the right guest or listener in the right moment, you’ll give them a desire to take action and a desire to find support while taking it. Which is where you come in. The more time you take to work out what feelings you need to create to get people to take the actions you desire, the more effective you will be. However, always use your power responsibly and respectfully. LOCATION: 836

How can we introduce feelings as part of the podcast?

W.I.I.F.M, or What’s in it for me? Here is where you note down the good, better, and best results for your business of getting them to appear on your show. Filling this in will stop you from interviewing people who don’t have the potential to do the following: a) hire you; b) refer you; or c) partner with you. 2. W.I.I.F.T stands for What’s in it for them? Turning the first question around enables you to be clear about why they would consider being on your show. The number of podcasts they have been on in the past will determine how easy it is to get a “yes,” but what’s “best” for them may well be the “best” for you too! For example, if best for you is that they hire you, it should be best for them too, because by hiring you they’ll get the outcome they desire. If best for you is that they send you a client, they will also get increased status/relationship capital by referring you to someone in their network. LOCATION: 900

Goals for what we want to achieve with the podcast! have these in mind!!

Production process

they are, I’m going to be clicking the link at the first opportunity. Letting them know you’re already a fan and mentioning something very specific about what they have written or said is a beautiful way to get in with someone. It also shows immediately you’re not spamming because it proves beyond doubt you are truly paying attention to them. LOCATION: 952

The booking form also has a space for them to upload their headshot, which you want for episode art. And there are spaces on the form for them to add a short bio and links to their website and social media handles. LOCATION: 993

Use a booking form to automate the process!

Audio engineers love it if you clap before a re-record because the spike in the audio waveform will show them it’s something they need to look out for. LOCATION: 1076

How has your business/skill changed as you have evolved/grown over time? How do you know what to do next? What sort of success have you seen after [action taken over time]? What are the easily avoidable mistakes you see people make in your area of business? What is worth spending time on? What can/should be delegated? What are your favorite resources? Where do you go to get information? What sort of things have surprised you? What’s next for you? What’s the best way to get started in your industry? LOCATION: 1135

If you’ve done your homework, the release of your episode should coincide with their new thing, LOCATION: 1306

Need to do this more often – can help to amplify our output!

The first one features episode art, a headshot of your guest, and the title of the episode. Easy. 2. The second one requires the show notes, as it features a quote from the show. Something easily memorable your guest said. 3. And the third is an audiogram with a 20-second (or thereabouts) clip from your podcast. This can be the episode teaser or a highlight from your show. A professional production company will create show notes you can take quotes from and pull-out audio clips for you. LOCATION: 1313

Deliverables we need to consider

YouTube is one of the most underrated channels for podcasting unless you’re LOCATION: 1333

Need to upload to YouTube!

Podcast title, episode number, episode title Short bio of the guest Episode description: overview of what was talked about Episode bullets: summary of key talking points (encourages the listener to listen) Quotable quotes: words of wisdom from the guest (sprinkle them throughout the notes or pull them together) How to find out more about the guest Links to products/services/resources mentioned by the guest Call to action: how the listener can connect with you/your product or service Call to action: encourage sharing, liking, and subscribing LOCATION: 1372

Things to include in post production

Guest Process

You just need to show interest and respect people’s time. LOCATION: 1417