February 24, 2025 • 40 mins
Unlock the future of podcasting as we explore game-changing trends set to define 2025. Discover how AI is revolutionizing podcast production, streamlining everything from crafting outlines to generating transcripts. Through my personal experiences, I reveal the ways AI can boost efficiency for indie podcasters, while stressing the irreplaceable value of the human touch in ensuring authenticity and accuracy. As listening habits shift post-pandemic, we'll discuss how consistency in release schedules can help nurture a devoted audience base. It’s all about finding the perfect blend of high audio quality and a conversational tone to keep your listeners engaged.
We venture into the dynamic world of podcast monetization, breaking down the myth that massive downloads are necessary for sponsorship success. Learn from real-world examples of podcasters who secured sponsorships before even launching, and gain insights into tailoring proposals to fit various company sizes and budgets. We also navigate alternative revenue streams like subscription models and strategic ad placements, keeping listener experience at the forefront. Balancing these elements is crucial to maximizing your podcast’s potential without compromising its soul.
Join our strategic ride as we journey through the podcasting landscape with the aim to amplify engagement and authenticity. Whether it's through creating email lists or building communities, the key lies in offering genuine connections beyond the mic. Our discussion includes using AI and automation to save time, maintaining integrity through affiliate links, and seizing the opportunity in less saturated platforms like podcasting. Don’t miss out on our eight-week podcasting program, designed to take you from concept to airwaves, or our upcoming event featuring expert insights on audience building. Let your unique voice shine in this evolving medium.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Donna Eade (00:00):
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast,
the place to be to grow andstreamline your business.
I'm your host, donna Eade.
Let's jump into the show.
Welcome back to the podcast,everybody, I am glad to have you
(00:21):
here today.
Now I do have to apologizeupfront.
I have tried my best to waituntil my voice was back on full
form, but I have run out ofepisodes to share with you, so I
have no choice but to get onthe mic, because consistency is
key, which we will come on tolater.
Unfortunately, I lost my voicetwo weeks ago.
(00:42):
Then I've had a little bit of acold following that and the
voice is still not on full form.
So I apologise, but hopefullythe information in this episode
is going to be much morevaluable to you than you know
the off-puttingness of my voicethis week.
Hopefully, fingers crossed,we're going to jump into it.
We're going to be talking aboutwhat has changed in 2025 when
(01:07):
it comes to podcasting.
So what are we seeing in thepodcasting realm?
What is trending at the moment,what is still working and how
can we keep ahead of the game?
So we're going to be talkingabout that this week.
If you didn't listen to lastweek's episode, I do encourage
you to go back and listen tothat episode.
I had a fantastic guest on theshow, dawn Ledette.
(01:27):
She was talking all abouttrusting yourself, self-trust,
how we sort of hear our voicesin our head.
That is usually, you know, aconglomerate of people from our
past, people from our present,negative self-talk, etc.
All in the lobby in our headthat is stopping us getting from
(01:48):
our intuition and trustingourselves with our choices.
So that was a really goodepisode for you to go back and
listen to.
But today we are back talkingabout podcasting, and the reason
that we are talking about itagain is because, obviously,
it's one of my favouritesubjects.
But also I know that a new yearis when people are starting to
(02:08):
implement their new strategies,their new things in their
business.
They've made their plans backin January.
They're looking at starting toimplement those now and I want
to make sure that if podcastingis on your to-do list, that you
don't forget about it and thatyou get it started.
So let's jump in to the topic ofthe day.
So what is changing inpodcasting?
(02:32):
What has changed in 2025?
What are we looking at shiftingin the podcasting realm?
What does that look like?
So, one of the first thingsthat we will see in 2025 and
that will become apparent is theuse of AI.
(02:53):
Obviously, I've been using AI inmy podcast for probably over 12
months now.
It's something that can reallyhelp to streamline the process
for you and make sure that youare not wasting valuable time.
Now, do I lean on AI superheavily?
Probably, but that's becauseI'm a solo podcaster.
(03:15):
I'm the only one that isinvolved in making, creating,
editing and publishing mypodcast.
If you have a team or a VA orsome help, I would reduce some
of that AI interaction and bringin some human element to it.
So what I mean is for me, in mypodcast strategy, what I use AI
(03:37):
for is help me with my podcastoutlines.
It helps me to produce my shownotes, it produces the
transcript for my show and Ialso use it to help me find
clips from the show and to findquotes from the show.
So all of that is done throughAI.
(03:59):
Where would I bring in the humanelement?
I would bring in the humanelement in the podcast show
notes specifically.
I think the rest of it ispretty much okay, but the
podcast show notes and thepodcast clips.
So for me, the show notes dotend to be quite.
(04:21):
They're quite good now and Ithink they're getting better and
maybe they will get better overtime, so it won't actually
matter so much.
But I do think that sometimesit's not always telling it from
the right perspective, so it'snot always telling it from the
host's perspective when it'sdoing the show notes.
Sometimes it includes thingsthat aren't actually said in the
(04:44):
way that they are meant andsometimes it includes things
that are just sort of commentsabout things that are coming up
and make it sound as if it'sbeing spoken about in that
episode.
So it's always worth, if youget AI to do it, to look through
it and just adjust it.
So it may be that that's thehuman element.
It just needs to have a humango over the content and
(05:04):
restructure and rewrite some ofthe elements of it, take things
out etc.
With the clips that I wastalking about.
So I do my voice clips about 60seconds of a clip from the
episode and I ask AI to find mea really good soundbite to use,
(05:26):
and I think that a human can doa better job of finding the real
golden nugget in the contentthan AI.
So I will try and listen to anepisode and if I hear something
as I'm going along that I think,oh, that would be a really good
one, I try and make a note ofit.
I'm not that great at doing it,to be honest with you.
(05:46):
I will forget a lot of the time.
So I am often relying on AI todo that for me.
Or sometimes and I will admitthis I will just go to about 10
minutes in the episode because Iknow that we're right into the
topic and I will listen aroundthere and find something around
that point that sounds good andI will use that.
(06:07):
But if you've got somebody whocan actually listen through and
say you know what that was agolden nugget right there and
make that the sound clip, thatwould be much better than using
AI.
However, ai will be used moreand more often in podcasts,
especially as more indiepodcasts start.
So indie podcasts beingpodcasts that are run by one
(06:27):
person.
So if you are in business byyourself and you're only going
to be doing the podcast byyourself, then it is likely that
you are going to lean quiteheavily on AI for that.
But I would say, always checkit, always check what is coming
out of AI, because it is notalways 100% accurate.
So in terms of short formversus long form content in
(06:49):
podcasting, I don't think we'reseeing much of a change there.
It really does depend on thetopic, who's speaking and what
your audience is used to.
So for me, you know, it is veryplausible that my episodes will
be around 20 to 30 minutes long,and that is what my audience
(07:11):
expects from me.
So if they are longer than that, by more than 10 minutes, then
it starts to be like oh, howlong is this going to go for?
And if it's shorter than that,I think my listeners feel a
little bit short changedchanged,like where's the rest of the
episode?
So 20 to 30 minutes is mynormal and that's what my
listeners expect.
But somebody like StephenBartlett on Diary of a CEO his
(07:35):
episodes can go for two and ahalf hours.
It's what his audience expects.
They expect longer than an hourfrom him, and oftentimes with
his they are being watched onYouTube rather than being
listened to as a podcast inaudible only format.
So there is a difference thereagain with how much you can get
(07:58):
away with the length of the show.
Now for me I would say you know,stick to your regular pattern.
With that I don't think there'sa trend towards long or short
form content in terms ofpodcasting.
I think it really depends onthe type of podcast you are and
what your audience is expectingfrom you.
So there is nothing to say thata 20 minute podcast is going to
(08:20):
work better than an hour longpodcast.
It really does depend on whoyou are, what the topic is and
what your audience expects.
So, although there is this hugemove to short form content in a
lot of the other platforms soYouTube, tiktok, all of those
social media platforms whereit's like we've got to get
(08:41):
everything done in 60 secondsPodcasting isn't like that.
We might do sound bites to getpeople interested in going to
listen to the full episode, butwe are still producing long form
content over on podcasts andthat hasn't changed.
So there are some shifts in theway you monetize your podcast.
So podcasting originally wasn'tan income source for anybody.
(09:05):
It was just a way of sharingknowledge, sharing thoughts,
feelings, etc.
A little bit like a radio show.
But there was no monetizingthat and over the years it has
become more of a money makingopportunity, which is great for
those of us who are podcasting.
(09:27):
I have always taught my studentsthat the best way to make money
from your podcast is to talkabout what you sell.
So what is your business?
Talk about that on your podcastand sell that through your
podcast.
That is your first and numberone way to make money from your
podcast is to let people knowwhat it is they can buy from you
(09:49):
, and that is something that youcan drop in either in dynamic
content at the beginning of theshow or in the middle of the
show or at the end of the show.
We can talk about dynamiccontent and the pros and cons
later, or you can talk about itthroughout the episode.
So it really depends, but it'sa great way of bringing more
people into whatever it is thatyou are selling.
(10:12):
So that is one way of makingmoney through your podcast and
it is the way that I tend totell people to start with.
One of the other ways that youcan make money on your podcast
is through sponsorship.
Now, this is something that Ifor a long time thought well,
you've got to have a long,established podcast.
You're going to have to havehundreds and hundreds of
downloads on your episodes,surely, to get sponsorship.
(10:34):
It's not the case.
There are companies out therethat will help you find sponsors
for your podcast.
So the people who want tosponsor podcasts will put ads in
there and you can go in andselect them and bid for them.
But you can reach out to peopleyou know, companies you know
and tell them that you have apodcast and talk about
(10:56):
sponsoring it.
Obviously, with sponsorship,there is always that
conversation of, well, how muchshould I be charging for
sponsorship?
What does normal look like withthat?
And that is one of those thingsthat is just how long is a
piece of string.
A lot of companies have clausesin their contracts that don't
(11:17):
allow you to discuss how muchyou're making through
sponsorship, which is why itmakes it very, very difficult
for anybody to really understandwhat is normal and what should
I be.
You know you don't want toundersell yourself, but then you
don't want to come up with aridiculous number that is going
to just completely put them offand turn them away.
So what are we looking at there?
(11:37):
Now, it really depends, I think,on whether you are going for a
small business or a big company,whether you are going for a
small business or a big company.
So if you are going forsomebody like Asana, for
instance, project managementtool, mondaycom, those kind of
companies.
They are bigger companies, theyhave bigger advertising budgets
(12:02):
, so they will expect to paymore for their advertising than
a solo entrepreneur would.
So if you're going to yourbusiness friends and you're
saying, look, I'm looking for asponsor for my video, for my
podcast, then you are going towant to tailor that to their ad
budget versus the ad budget of acompany like mondaycom.
So there's going to bedifferences there with
expectations from companies onwhat they will pay.
(12:24):
But also there is something tobe said to you know how popular
is your podcast?
How many downloads are yougetting on it?
They are going to want to knowthat information.
Now, that being said, you canget podcast sponsorship from day
dot from before you even launchyour podcast.
If you go to a company and youtell them look, I'm going to
(12:47):
start this podcast, it's goingto be about x, this is what
we're going to talk about.
I think it would really alignwith your company and I would
love for you to sponsor it.
And this is what I'm looking atin terms of value for you and
value for me in what that wouldlook like.
You could get a sponsor fromthe get go Now.
I did a pod chat with apodcaster who had a sponsor for
(13:11):
their show from the start oftheir podcast, before they even
launched an episode, and theyhad actually reached out to a
very big company, got asponsorship deal with them for
her first season.
So they sponsored every episodeof her first season.
And then, when it came for hersecond season, they renegotiated
.
They added they gave her moremoney because the podcast was
(13:35):
now established and there wasmore data to play with, so they
gave her more.
So and that went from, I think,a three figure value to a four
figure value.
So you're looking at that's,that's where you can be with
your podcasting and and that'sagain it's.
It's hard because there's not alot of people out there that
(13:55):
will talk actual numbers withyou when it comes to how much
they're getting, and oftentimesit's because they are tied by
the contracts that they signwith the companies.
So you know it is one that youcould play around with and at
the end of the day, if you'vegot somebody, if it's a smaller
business and you're like helpingsmall business owners with
(14:17):
sponsorship and they want to payyou a couple of hundred pounds,
then that's a couple of hundredpounds that you didn't have
before and that would help coverany of your podcasting costs.
And we are going to cover anepisode in the future not too
long in the future, but in thefuture about the costs of
podcasting.
So if you could get somebodythat's going to cover your costs
(14:37):
for your the entire series thatthey're sponsoring, then you
know that's that's better thannothing and it gives you
something to work with and thenyou can actually start to use
the data, start to use thereturn on investment to show a
case if you want to increasethat price.
So lots of different ways ofmaking money on podcasting.
(15:00):
Those are two of them.
Another way you could do it issubscription model, so you could
have episodes that are forsubscribers only and that those
subscribers would pay a monthlyfee to get your members only
content on your podcast.
So that's a way to do it, andthen you can just have ads on
your podcast.
But again, they are usuallyrequiring a set number of
(15:24):
downloads before you canactually access them and the
amount of money that comes infrom them is very, very small.
So it's very much like sort ofYouTube AdSense in that way,
google AdSense in that it's likepennies per listen.
So you've got to get a lot oflistens to actually make it
financially viable, likeworthwhile.
(15:46):
And I would say, unless you aresomebody who has got lots and
lots of downloads, I wouldn't dothat one, because you're not so
in control of what ads end upon your podcast and you know ads
can be annoying.
So I would just be reallycareful about that, because that
is a trend that I have seencoming in more in the last
(16:08):
couple of years is the amount ofads on podcasts and as much as
like.
It's great for the hosts interms of a revenue stream, it is
really annoying as a listenerto have sort of seven or eight
ads in one podcast episodethat's 40 minutes long.
You know you don't get thatmany ad breaks on TV, so that's
just my thoughts on it.
(16:28):
So then, looking atdiscoverability, we are going to
talk more about this in anotherepisode, because I think it's
really important to talk aboutthe algorithms for podcasting,
because I have said before thatyou know podcasts are discovered
via SEO, which they are, butthere are algorithms on certain
(16:49):
podcasting platforms that youneed to be aware of.
So we're going to deep diveinto podcast algorithms in
another episode, but just to saythat you know there are things
that you can do that are goingto help you be discovered with
your podcast, over and above SEO.
But SEO is really, reallyimportant with your podcast
(17:10):
because it is one of thosethings that if people are
searching on Google, they'regoing to find your podcast
episode if your SEO is good.
So it is a good thing to havefrom dayisgoodseo on your
podcast.
Looking at changes in audiencebehavior that has changed over
the years and I remember beingyou know, I've been listening to
(17:31):
podcasts since 2014.
And the way I listened topodcasts back then versus now
has changed, and I know forother people it's kind of ebbed
and flowed.
So when podcasting reallyexploded in the UK was when the
pandemic happened.
Because people were at home,they were bored, they had
nothing to do.
Lots of people had startedpodcasting then, so there was
(17:55):
more podcasts to listen to thatwere based in the UK.
Awareness became higher in theUK for podcasts and then we
started listening to thembecause we had nothing else to
do on our walks, so we wouldlisten to podcasts.
Now, obviously, people are backat their jobs.
They're back in their offices.
(18:15):
There's lots of differences nowto what it was before the
pandemic, so for a lot of peoplethey didn't actually go back to
the offices, so the dailycommute isn't there.
But they are now working again,so they haven't got all this
(18:36):
leisure time to go on long walksand listen to podcasts.
So now podcasts are being sortof squeezed into the routine in
different ways.
So, for example, I will listento a podcast when I'm driving my
car.
So whenever I get in the car Iwill listen to a podcast.
But I don't have to leave myhouse to work.
So this means when I'm going toget my nails done, when I'm
going to visit my parents, whenI'm going over to see my sister
(18:59):
dog sitting, all of these sortsof things Whenever I get in my
car, a podcast goes on.
And the only other time that Ireally listen to podcasts is
when I go for a walk, whichduring the winter months is not
very often.
So other people will listenwhile they're at the gym, you
know, while they're doing thesekind of mundane tasks that are
part of their daily routine iswhen people are now listening,
(19:22):
whereas back in 2020, peoplecould be listening to podcasts
all day long.
They were looking for thosekind of serial podcasts with
like drama series, almoststorytelling podcasts that they
could just listen to a littlebit like an audio book and be
listening all day long.
So it's definitely changed theway people consume to how they
(19:44):
used to consume a few years ago,consume to how they used to
consume a few years ago.
But generally speaking, itstill stands that people tend to
make podcasts part of theirroutine.
So if you always release yourpodcast on a Monday, then people
who go to a gym on a Mondaythat listen to your podcast are
going to put that on whilethey're at the gym.
They expect you to be thereevery Monday when they're in the
(20:05):
gym, and that is just the wayit is.
So those kind of things stillstand well, you know, they kind
of were there before thepandemic and they've come back
since.
So you do become part ofpeople's routines, which leads
on to what is still working inpodcasting, which is consistency
, which I mentioned earlierright at the beginning of the
(20:26):
episode, is consistency.
You do become part of people'sroutines and that is why a
regular publishing schedule isimportant.
Now, it doesn't mean that youhave to do it every week.
It means that you have to beconsistent with what it is that
you do do.
I am not a fan of bi-weekly ormonthly episodes, just because
(20:46):
people get you know.
It's too much variance forpeople If they listen one week
but then it's not available thenext week and then they've got
to remember in three weeks timeto come back or they've got to
remember the following week.
It's just too much for people.
It needs to become a automatichabit that when they do X, they
listen to Y, and that's justwhat happens.
(21:08):
So the easier you can make itfor people, the more bingeable
your episodes are going to be.
So consistency is reallyimportant.
Now, if you are going to dosomething different to weekly, I
would highly recommend choosingserial podcasts instead, so
where 12 episodes kind of go outeach week, one after the other
(21:29):
for 12 weeks.
Then you take a break and thenyou start again at another time,
because then you can have likea mini launch for your new
series.
You can allude to people thatyou know the series is coming to
an end and when to expect thenew series, and you can prepare
your audience better.
So once they're back into theroutine of listening to your
series, they'll continue tolisten to it, and when it's not
(21:52):
there, they know, okay, it'scoming back and that person will
let me know when it's comingback.
So that's really important.
Audio quality is still really,really important in podcasting.
I am all for the more relaxed,conversational style podcast
episodes that aren't overlyedited.
(22:13):
You know I don't overly edit myepisodes but it is important to
have good sound quality and itis important that you listen
through to your episode and yousay would this be something I
want to listen to?
So for me I know that if I heartoo many filler words coming at
me in quick succession I'mgoing to stop listening, because
(22:34):
when I'm only listening itreally heightens that for me.
So I will take out a lot of theums that I will say during my
podcast episodes because I don'twant it to interfere with your
listening or understanding ofwhat it is that I'm saying.
And oftentimes it's justbecause I'm thinking, because I
don't do a lot of rehearsing formy podcast episodes before I
(22:57):
record them.
So I will often have thesepauses and I don't particularly
like silence.
So when I pause I will um andthen that is an interruption.
For you guys and for some peopleit's almost like at the end of
every sentence, the beginning ofevery sentence and then in the
middle of sentences, and it canreally take away from the
(23:20):
message that people are tryingto give.
So just be aware of that whenit comes to your editing.
But you don't have to edit outevery mistake.
You don't have to overly editand have every um gone.
I think that's kind ofunnatural and although it sounds
great it sounds very highlyproduced it takes away a bit of
(23:40):
that personality and a littlebit of that relatability, I
think.
So it depends on what you wantto go for as to how edited you
go.
But audio quality that soundquality is really important,
your niche and messaging clarity.
So it is really important toknow who you're speaking to and
know what you're telling them,and that is going to really help
(24:02):
you stand out in the podcastmarket.
So we have spoken before abouthow many podcasts there are in
the world around 5 million,which seems like a lot of
competition should I even bother?
But the reality is that thereis only around 350,000 that are
active podcasts, and an activepodcast is a podcast that has
(24:23):
uploaded more than one episodein a 12 month period.
So that will include lots ofpodcasts that aren't actually
active anymore, because 90% ofpodcasters who start a podcast
will quit after episode three.
So they could have uploadedthree episodes this year and not
uploaded another one, and theyare included in that 350,000
(24:46):
number, but they're not actuallyplanning on uploading anything
else.
But when you take the number,even if you take that large
number of 350,000, and then youdivide it by how many different
genres of podcasts there are andthen you divide it into the sub
niches of those genres, thereare not a lot of podcasts out
there talking about what it isthat you want to talk about.
(25:09):
And if you can niche down goodenough, good enough, that's
really bad English, donna.
Down.
Good enough, good enough,that's really bad English, donna
.
But if you can niche down intothat topic area, then it's
likely that you are going to bethe only one talking about it in
that way.
Now there are advantages anddisadvantages to hyper niching.
The advantage is you're goingto be the only one talking about
(25:29):
it.
So if somebody's searching forthat hyper niche topic, you're
going to be the one that comesup, but the audience size for it
is going to be much, muchsmaller.
So it would be much harder toget advertising opportunities
and sponsorship and it is goingto be harder to find those
listeners to begin with.
So just something to thinkabout on the niching aspect.
(25:51):
So podcasting remains a verypowerful tool for business
marketing.
It is such a good way ofshowcasing your knowledge and
your way of working so thatpeople can really get to know
and understand who you are.
So when that people are lookingto buy from you, oftentimes
(26:12):
they will go and search yoursocial medias and see what type
of person you are, especially ifit's a large purchase you know,
if we're talking over a coupleof hundred pounds people are
going to want to know a littlebit more about the person
they're buying for, and apodcast is a great way to give
them access to who you are, howyou teach and what your values
are.
So it's awesome for that,because if you're doing a
(26:35):
podcast every week, there couldbe hundreds of episodes Like I'm
on episode 197 now, no 297 now.
So that is a big number.
There is many, many episodesthat people can go back to and
listen and understand who I amas a person and what it is that
I'm trying to do.
So that is great.
It is also great to be able topull on those episodes.
(26:59):
So I heard Catherine and Julieat the Far Too Fabulous podcast
did this exactly this in anepisode a couple of weeks ago
where they alluded to an episodethey did right at the beginning
that they share with theirclients all the time, and it is
the episode on the four legs ofa chair.
Now they said that it's notcalled four legs of a chair and
(27:22):
I have told Catherine she needsto change it to say it is four
legs of a chair, because that'show they refer to it all the
time and that's what people aregoing to look for when they go
searching for that episode, andif people have got to search too
hard for something, they'llmove on to something else.
So if it's called four legs ofa chair by now fingers crossed,
it is.
You can go and listen to it.
It's the foundations of whatyou need to keep yourself
(27:45):
healthy and well and they talkabout it as four legs of a chair
and it's a really great episode.
But they allude to it all thetime on the podcast.
But they also talk to theirclients about it.
Tell their clients to go andlisten to it and that's what
your podcast can become.
It can become this resource thatnot only is new your regular
listeners listening to and newlisteners listening to, but you
(28:09):
can actually give it topotential clients, you know.
If they're wanting to know moreabout a particular topic, you
can share that with them.
So it's a really good way ofusing it as a marketing tool for
your business.
So one of the things that welike to use our podcast for as
well is to get engagement fromour audience.
(28:30):
So making email lists,communities around the podcast,
repurposing your content indifferent ways, are all ways to
engage your audience, and thatis something that will still be
really popular in 2025.
To use your podcast for thosepurposes.
So making sure that you've gota way of people signing up to
(28:51):
your email list, making surethat you are giving people some
way of connecting with youwhether that is just by
connecting with you on one ofyour social media platforms or
whether you have a dedicatedgroup for your podcast.
Either way, it's a great way ofconnecting with your audience
(29:11):
and them getting to have thatback and forth with you, rather
than just the one way streetthat podcasting is.
So looking at ways to adapt andstay ahead of the game.
Let's talk about some practicaltips.
So one of the things is toremember what I was saying at
the beginning about how you areshowing up in your podcast, when
(29:36):
I was talking about how longyour podcasts are.
You know your audience hasexpectations and you fulfilling
those expectations will keepyour audience coming back.
If you start changing too much,it's going to be jarring for
them.
So when you're looking at thetrends that you're seeing and
(30:04):
the different methods ofmonetizing that you're seeing
and all of this stuff, reallyconsider your audience in it
before you make any big changesand I would say test, test, test
, test.
Don't do anything as a solid.
This is a change forever and Iwould monitor your downloads and
your feedback that you'regetting on those changes and I
would make sure that you keep toyour core principles for your
podcast.
So what was the reason youstarted your podcast?
(30:24):
Is it fulfilling that reason?
If it is, then jumping on atrend isn't necessary.
If it isn't, then maybe one ofthese trends might help you to
reach that goal.
But you have to stay sort oftrue to the value of your but
(30:53):
you know how?
You know you really enjoyingsomething and then all of a
sudden there's ads put on it andit almost feels like they're
selling out because they're justjoining the bandwagon and
suddenly this show that youreally enjoyed because it was ad
free and you could just listenand you didn't have to listen to
, you know, random ads in themiddle of it becomes not the
(31:15):
thing that you were listening toand it takes away from it.
So just be really careful aboutthe things that you take on.
So for me, I don't ever seemyself and I won't say you know
never, say never.
But I don't ever see myselfdoing ads on the podcast, in
terms of like having ad spotsthat people would go on because
I could get HelloFresh on thepodcast.
In terms of like having adspots that people would go on
(31:35):
because I could get HelloFreshon the podcast, I could get a
coffee brand on the podcast.
I don't even drink coffee, youknow.
So there's no sort of controlover that for me.
But what I would consider is totalk about myself, talk about a
product or a service that I useand I love that, I would
(31:57):
recommend to you as a friend,and if I get a kickback from it,
then that's just a bonus.
But I don't want to bring youthings that I wouldn't 100%
believe in.
So that is one of the reasonswhy I have my kit listed down
below.
So if you're interested in thepodcast equipment that I use, I
have Amazon links in there.
(32:18):
So they are affiliate links,but it is stuff that I use or
stuff that I want to use.
There is one thing on therethat I am looking at buying soon
, but it's all the stuff that Iwould recommend for you.
So that doesn't feel bad to me.
It feels in alignment becauseit's what I use.
So my microphone is linked onthere.
(32:39):
I use it for every singlepodcast and I have done for the
last 280 episodes or somethingridiculous.
So I believe in this product.
So that aligns to me.
But having ads from generalcompanies like tv type ads,
radio type ads in the middle ofmy podcast doesn't feel genuine
(33:02):
to me.
That feels like a money grab tome and, like I say, I will
never say never.
Maybe there will come a daywhere that happens.
I don't see it happening, butthat's just what feels good to
me.
So you've got to do what feelsgood to you and you've got to
think about how your audienceare going to interpret that.
So just something to considerTools and strategies to help you
(33:24):
get ahead and stay ahead.
Look at using the automations,the AI stuff, because it can
really save you a lot of time.
And that's one of the thingsthat I think a lot of people are
concerned about when they'restarting a podcast is how much
time is it going to take?
If you can utilize AI andautomation and you can batch, it
(33:45):
takes up so much less time, andthat's the same for anything.
In reality.
You know, if you're blogging,if you're doing videos, if you
can batch and if you canautomate, then there is so much
time that can be saved.
So I would just say lean intothat, but don't forget to double
check what AI is saying.
(34:05):
And finally, I just want to saythat it is a great time to start
a podcast.
If you are thinking about it.
There is still so much roomwithin podcasting.
It is not like YouTube.
I think on YouTube there's like66 million channels out there
and a lot of them are active andsome of them that aren't active
(34:28):
still pop up in your feed.
It's crazy how YouTube works,but YouTube is quite a saturated
place, and that's not to saythat it's oversaturated and you
can't make things work overthere, but it is a lot of work
and it is a lot of effort to getyourself seen over there,
whereas podcasting it takes alittle less effort because there
(34:50):
is less competition at themoment.
It is still a great time tostart a podcast and if you are
in business, I think it is agreat way to showcase your
personality but also yourthoughts and feelings on your
area and showcase your knowledgeand your authority in the area
(35:11):
that you work in.
And I think being able toshowcase that to potential
clients in that way where itdoesn't feel pushy or salesy,
because at this particularmoment I'm not trying to sell
anybody anything.
I am just trying to share myknowledge with you to help you
move further in your business,and I don't know who you
listening are, so I can't betrying to sell to you because I
(35:36):
don't know you.
So there is that side of things.
And then you can also then sendpeople who are interested in
knowing more from you to yourpodcast so they can listen.
So when people are listening toyour podcast episode, they're
just being able to absorb whoyou are, what it is that you
like to talk about, what it isthat you do, what you're an
(35:59):
expert in your thoughts andfeelings, the way that you work
it, because everybody worksdifferently and they're getting
a sense of your personality andwhether they are actually
aligned with who you are andwhether that's somebody they
want to work with.
So that is a really good use ofpodcasting.
So I am going to shut up nowbecause I can hear how croaky my
voice is getting, so it is timeto take a break from speaking.
(36:24):
But if you are interested instarting your own podcast, I
would love to invite you to takea look at my program.
It's an eight week program.
You can go and find it atdonnaeedcom forward slash join.
There's obviously no pressure.
I'm not in front of you.
You can go to the website.
Don't go to the website, butyou will find all the
information about the podcastprogram there.
(36:45):
It's an eight-week program thatwill walk you step-by-step from
creating your podcast name andbrand through to publication of
your first three episodes, andyou will have me in your pocket
the whole entire time of thoseeight weeks as well.
So that's donnaecom forwardslash join.
If you want to go and find outmore about my program, don't
(37:06):
forget I have also got an eventcoming up.
Oh, my goodness, I can'tbelieve.
I almost forgot to talk aboutit this week, but I have now
released all of my speakers forthe podcast event.
It is running on the 3rd ofApril.
It will be linked in the shownotes below, but you can come
and listen to some fantasticspeakers talk about audience
(37:29):
building, productivity planning,productivity planning,
podcasting, mindset, money andalso we have got those two cat
sessions.
So my speakers are NicolaTonsaga, who is an author and
podcaster of being so Confident.
You are getting access to JanineConey, who is a brand and
(37:51):
visibility specialist.
You are getting access to thewonderful Andrea Rainsford, who
has built a fantastic communityof women and launched networking
events and in-person eventsover the last couple of years
that have been absolutelywonderful and people have loved
them.
You are getting access to DianeWatson, who was on the podcast
(38:14):
just before Christmas.
She's going to be talking allabout money.
She is the author of she CanProsper.
You are going to get access tome.
I am going to be talking aboutpodcasting.
I am going to be interviewed byone of my other guests how fun
is that?
And you are going to get tohear from Cheryl Ladlaw and she
is an AI expert.
(38:35):
So she's a website developerand AI expert and she's going to
be talking about AI in ourbusiness for productivity.
And then you are going to getthe wonderful cats.
Cat Gouge and Catherine Chapmanare coming to share their
expertise with us, which is aslightly different flair from
the podcast episodes.
So if you want to come and joinus, you can.
(38:56):
There are still early birdtickets available until the 28th
.
So run, don't walk.
Go and get your early birdticket.
Join us on the 3rd of April.
You can go to donnaeedcomforward slash birthday event.
That link will be in the shownotes and I will see you guys
next week.
Bye for now.
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast,
the place to be to grow andstreamline your business.
I'm your host, donna Eade.
Let's jump into the show.
Welcome back to the podcast,everybody, I am glad to have you
(00:21):
here today.
Now I do have to apologizeupfront.
I have tried my best to waituntil my voice was back on full
form, but I have run out ofepisodes to share with you, so I
have no choice but to get onthe mic, because consistency is
key, which we will come on tolater.
Unfortunately, I lost my voicetwo weeks ago.
(00:42):
Then I've had a little bit of acold following that and the
voice is still not on full form.
So I apologise, but hopefullythe information in this episode
is going to be much morevaluable to you than you know
the off-puttingness of my voicethis week.
Hopefully, fingers crossed,we're going to jump into it.
We're going to be talking aboutwhat has changed in 2025 when
(01:07):
it comes to podcasting.
So what are we seeing in thepodcasting realm?
What is trending at the moment,what is still working and how
can we keep ahead of the game?
So we're going to be talkingabout that this week.
If you didn't listen to lastweek's episode, I do encourage
you to go back and listen tothat episode.
I had a fantastic guest on theshow, dawn Ledette.
(01:27):
She was talking all abouttrusting yourself, self-trust,
how we sort of hear our voicesin our head.
That is usually, you know, aconglomerate of people from our
past, people from our present,negative self-talk, etc.
All in the lobby in our headthat is stopping us getting from
(01:48):
our intuition and trustingourselves with our choices.
So that was a really goodepisode for you to go back and
listen to.
But today we are back talkingabout podcasting, and the reason
that we are talking about itagain is because, obviously,
it's one of my favouritesubjects.
But also I know that a new yearis when people are starting to
(02:08):
implement their new strategies,their new things in their
business.
They've made their plans backin January.
They're looking at starting toimplement those now and I want
to make sure that if podcastingis on your to-do list, that you
don't forget about it and thatyou get it started.
So let's jump in to the topic ofthe day.
So what is changing inpodcasting?
(02:32):
What has changed in 2025?
What are we looking at shiftingin the podcasting realm?
What does that look like?
So, one of the first thingsthat we will see in 2025 and
that will become apparent is theuse of AI.
(02:53):
Obviously, I've been using AI inmy podcast for probably over 12
months now.
It's something that can reallyhelp to streamline the process
for you and make sure that youare not wasting valuable time.
Now, do I lean on AI superheavily?
Probably, but that's becauseI'm a solo podcaster.
(03:15):
I'm the only one that isinvolved in making, creating,
editing and publishing mypodcast.
If you have a team or a VA orsome help, I would reduce some
of that AI interaction and bringin some human element to it.
So what I mean is for me, in mypodcast strategy, what I use AI
(03:37):
for is help me with my podcastoutlines.
It helps me to produce my shownotes, it produces the
transcript for my show and Ialso use it to help me find
clips from the show and to findquotes from the show.
So all of that is done throughAI.
(03:59):
Where would I bring in the humanelement?
I would bring in the humanelement in the podcast show
notes specifically.
I think the rest of it ispretty much okay, but the
podcast show notes and thepodcast clips.
So for me, the show notes dotend to be quite.
(04:21):
They're quite good now and Ithink they're getting better and
maybe they will get better overtime, so it won't actually
matter so much.
But I do think that sometimesit's not always telling it from
the right perspective, so it'snot always telling it from the
host's perspective when it'sdoing the show notes.
Sometimes it includes thingsthat aren't actually said in the
(04:44):
way that they are meant andsometimes it includes things
that are just sort of commentsabout things that are coming up
and make it sound as if it'sbeing spoken about in that
episode.
So it's always worth, if youget AI to do it, to look through
it and just adjust it.
So it may be that that's thehuman element.
It just needs to have a humango over the content and
(05:04):
restructure and rewrite some ofthe elements of it, take things
out etc.
With the clips that I wastalking about.
So I do my voice clips about 60seconds of a clip from the
episode and I ask AI to find mea really good soundbite to use,
(05:26):
and I think that a human can doa better job of finding the real
golden nugget in the contentthan AI.
So I will try and listen to anepisode and if I hear something
as I'm going along that I think,oh, that would be a really good
one, I try and make a note ofit.
I'm not that great at doing it,to be honest with you.
(05:46):
I will forget a lot of the time.
So I am often relying on AI todo that for me.
Or sometimes and I will admitthis I will just go to about 10
minutes in the episode because Iknow that we're right into the
topic and I will listen aroundthere and find something around
that point that sounds good andI will use that.
(06:07):
But if you've got somebody whocan actually listen through and
say you know what that was agolden nugget right there and
make that the sound clip, thatwould be much better than using
AI.
However, ai will be used moreand more often in podcasts,
especially as more indiepodcasts start.
So indie podcasts beingpodcasts that are run by one
(06:27):
person.
So if you are in business byyourself and you're only going
to be doing the podcast byyourself, then it is likely that
you are going to lean quiteheavily on AI for that.
But I would say, always checkit, always check what is coming
out of AI, because it is notalways 100% accurate.
So in terms of short formversus long form content in
(06:49):
podcasting, I don't think we'reseeing much of a change there.
It really does depend on thetopic, who's speaking and what
your audience is used to.
So for me, you know, it is veryplausible that my episodes will
be around 20 to 30 minutes long,and that is what my audience
(07:11):
expects from me.
So if they are longer than that, by more than 10 minutes, then
it starts to be like oh, howlong is this going to go for?
And if it's shorter than that,I think my listeners feel a
little bit short changedchanged,like where's the rest of the
episode?
So 20 to 30 minutes is mynormal and that's what my
listeners expect.
But somebody like StephenBartlett on Diary of a CEO his
(07:35):
episodes can go for two and ahalf hours.
It's what his audience expects.
They expect longer than an hourfrom him, and oftentimes with
his they are being watched onYouTube rather than being
listened to as a podcast inaudible only format.
So there is a difference thereagain with how much you can get
(07:58):
away with the length of the show.
Now for me I would say you know,stick to your regular pattern.
With that I don't think there'sa trend towards long or short
form content in terms ofpodcasting.
I think it really depends onthe type of podcast you are and
what your audience is expectingfrom you.
So there is nothing to say thata 20 minute podcast is going to
(08:20):
work better than an hour longpodcast.
It really does depend on whoyou are, what the topic is and
what your audience expects.
So, although there is this hugemove to short form content in a
lot of the other platforms soYouTube, tiktok, all of those
social media platforms whereit's like we've got to get
(08:41):
everything done in 60 secondsPodcasting isn't like that.
We might do sound bites to getpeople interested in going to
listen to the full episode, butwe are still producing long form
content over on podcasts andthat hasn't changed.
So there are some shifts in theway you monetize your podcast.
So podcasting originally wasn'tan income source for anybody.
(09:05):
It was just a way of sharingknowledge, sharing thoughts,
feelings, etc.
A little bit like a radio show.
But there was no monetizingthat and over the years it has
become more of a money makingopportunity, which is great for
those of us who are podcasting.
(09:27):
I have always taught my studentsthat the best way to make money
from your podcast is to talkabout what you sell.
So what is your business?
Talk about that on your podcastand sell that through your
podcast.
That is your first and numberone way to make money from your
podcast is to let people knowwhat it is they can buy from you
(09:49):
, and that is something that youcan drop in either in dynamic
content at the beginning of theshow or in the middle of the
show or at the end of the show.
We can talk about dynamiccontent and the pros and cons
later, or you can talk about itthroughout the episode.
So it really depends, but it'sa great way of bringing more
people into whatever it is thatyou are selling.
(10:12):
So that is one way of makingmoney through your podcast and
it is the way that I tend totell people to start with.
One of the other ways that youcan make money on your podcast
is through sponsorship.
Now, this is something that Ifor a long time thought well,
you've got to have a long,established podcast.
You're going to have to havehundreds and hundreds of
downloads on your episodes,surely, to get sponsorship.
(10:34):
It's not the case.
There are companies out therethat will help you find sponsors
for your podcast.
So the people who want tosponsor podcasts will put ads in
there and you can go in andselect them and bid for them.
But you can reach out to peopleyou know, companies you know
and tell them that you have apodcast and talk about
(10:56):
sponsoring it.
Obviously, with sponsorship,there is always that
conversation of, well, how muchshould I be charging for
sponsorship?
What does normal look like withthat?
And that is one of those thingsthat is just how long is a
piece of string.
A lot of companies have clausesin their contracts that don't
(11:17):
allow you to discuss how muchyou're making through
sponsorship, which is why itmakes it very, very difficult
for anybody to really understandwhat is normal and what should
I be.
You know you don't want toundersell yourself, but then you
don't want to come up with aridiculous number that is going
to just completely put them offand turn them away.
So what are we looking at there?
(11:37):
Now, it really depends, I think,on whether you are going for a
small business or a big company,whether you are going for a
small business or a big company.
So if you are going forsomebody like Asana, for
instance, project managementtool, mondaycom, those kind of
companies.
They are bigger companies, theyhave bigger advertising budgets
(12:02):
, so they will expect to paymore for their advertising than
a solo entrepreneur would.
So if you're going to yourbusiness friends and you're
saying, look, I'm looking for asponsor for my video, for my
podcast, then you are going towant to tailor that to their ad
budget versus the ad budget of acompany like mondaycom.
So there's going to bedifferences there with
expectations from companies onwhat they will pay.
(12:24):
But also there is something tobe said to you know how popular
is your podcast?
How many downloads are yougetting on it?
They are going to want to knowthat information.
Now, that being said, you canget podcast sponsorship from day
dot from before you even launchyour podcast.
If you go to a company and youtell them look, I'm going to
(12:47):
start this podcast, it's goingto be about x, this is what
we're going to talk about.
I think it would really alignwith your company and I would
love for you to sponsor it.
And this is what I'm looking atin terms of value for you and
value for me in what that wouldlook like.
You could get a sponsor fromthe get go Now.
I did a pod chat with apodcaster who had a sponsor for
(13:11):
their show from the start oftheir podcast, before they even
launched an episode, and theyhad actually reached out to a
very big company, got asponsorship deal with them for
her first season.
So they sponsored every episodeof her first season.
And then, when it came for hersecond season, they renegotiated
.
They added they gave her moremoney because the podcast was
(13:35):
now established and there wasmore data to play with, so they
gave her more.
So and that went from, I think,a three figure value to a four
figure value.
So you're looking at that's,that's where you can be with
your podcasting and and that'sagain it's.
It's hard because there's not alot of people out there that
(13:55):
will talk actual numbers withyou when it comes to how much
they're getting, and oftentimesit's because they are tied by
the contracts that they signwith the companies.
So you know it is one that youcould play around with and at
the end of the day, if you'vegot somebody, if it's a smaller
business and you're like helpingsmall business owners with
(14:17):
sponsorship and they want to payyou a couple of hundred pounds,
then that's a couple of hundredpounds that you didn't have
before and that would help coverany of your podcasting costs.
And we are going to cover anepisode in the future not too
long in the future, but in thefuture about the costs of
podcasting.
So if you could get somebodythat's going to cover your costs
(14:37):
for your the entire series thatthey're sponsoring, then you
know that's that's better thannothing and it gives you
something to work with and thenyou can actually start to use
the data, start to use thereturn on investment to show a
case if you want to increasethat price.
So lots of different ways ofmaking money on podcasting.
(15:00):
Those are two of them.
Another way you could do it issubscription model, so you could
have episodes that are forsubscribers only and that those
subscribers would pay a monthlyfee to get your members only
content on your podcast.
So that's a way to do it, andthen you can just have ads on
your podcast.
But again, they are usuallyrequiring a set number of
(15:24):
downloads before you canactually access them and the
amount of money that comes infrom them is very, very small.
So it's very much like sort ofYouTube AdSense in that way,
google AdSense in that it's likepennies per listen.
So you've got to get a lot oflistens to actually make it
financially viable, likeworthwhile.
(15:46):
And I would say, unless you aresomebody who has got lots and
lots of downloads, I wouldn't dothat one, because you're not so
in control of what ads end upon your podcast and you know ads
can be annoying.
So I would just be reallycareful about that, because that
is a trend that I have seencoming in more in the last
(16:08):
couple of years is the amount ofads on podcasts and as much as
like.
It's great for the hosts interms of a revenue stream, it is
really annoying as a listenerto have sort of seven or eight
ads in one podcast episodethat's 40 minutes long.
You know you don't get thatmany ad breaks on TV, so that's
just my thoughts on it.
(16:28):
So then, looking atdiscoverability, we are going to
talk more about this in anotherepisode, because I think it's
really important to talk aboutthe algorithms for podcasting,
because I have said before thatyou know podcasts are discovered
via SEO, which they are, butthere are algorithms on certain
(16:49):
podcasting platforms that youneed to be aware of.
So we're going to deep diveinto podcast algorithms in
another episode, but just to saythat you know there are things
that you can do that are goingto help you be discovered with
your podcast, over and above SEO.
But SEO is really, reallyimportant with your podcast
(17:10):
because it is one of thosethings that if people are
searching on Google, they'regoing to find your podcast
episode if your SEO is good.
So it is a good thing to havefrom dayisgoodseo on your
podcast.
Looking at changes in audiencebehavior that has changed over
the years and I remember beingyou know, I've been listening to
(17:31):
podcasts since 2014.
And the way I listened topodcasts back then versus now
has changed, and I know forother people it's kind of ebbed
and flowed.
So when podcasting reallyexploded in the UK was when the
pandemic happened.
Because people were at home,they were bored, they had
nothing to do.
Lots of people had startedpodcasting then, so there was
(17:55):
more podcasts to listen to thatwere based in the UK.
Awareness became higher in theUK for podcasts and then we
started listening to thembecause we had nothing else to
do on our walks, so we wouldlisten to podcasts.
Now, obviously, people are backat their jobs.
They're back in their offices.
(18:15):
There's lots of differences nowto what it was before the
pandemic, so for a lot of peoplethey didn't actually go back to
the offices, so the dailycommute isn't there.
But they are now working again,so they haven't got all this
(18:36):
leisure time to go on long walksand listen to podcasts.
So now podcasts are being sortof squeezed into the routine in
different ways.
So, for example, I will listento a podcast when I'm driving my
car.
So whenever I get in the car Iwill listen to a podcast.
But I don't have to leave myhouse to work.
So this means when I'm going toget my nails done, when I'm
going to visit my parents, whenI'm going over to see my sister
(18:59):
dog sitting, all of these sortsof things Whenever I get in my
car, a podcast goes on.
And the only other time that Ireally listen to podcasts is
when I go for a walk, whichduring the winter months is not
very often.
So other people will listenwhile they're at the gym, you
know, while they're doing thesekind of mundane tasks that are
part of their daily routine iswhen people are now listening,
(19:22):
whereas back in 2020, peoplecould be listening to podcasts
all day long.
They were looking for thosekind of serial podcasts with
like drama series, almoststorytelling podcasts that they
could just listen to a littlebit like an audio book and be
listening all day long.
So it's definitely changed theway people consume to how they
(19:44):
used to consume a few years ago,consume to how they used to
consume a few years ago.
But generally speaking, itstill stands that people tend to
make podcasts part of theirroutine.
So if you always release yourpodcast on a Monday, then people
who go to a gym on a Mondaythat listen to your podcast are
going to put that on whilethey're at the gym.
They expect you to be thereevery Monday when they're in the
(20:05):
gym, and that is just the wayit is.
So those kind of things stillstand well, you know, they kind
of were there before thepandemic and they've come back
since.
So you do become part ofpeople's routines, which leads
on to what is still working inpodcasting, which is consistency
, which I mentioned earlierright at the beginning of the
(20:26):
episode, is consistency.
You do become part of people'sroutines and that is why a
regular publishing schedule isimportant.
Now, it doesn't mean that youhave to do it every week.
It means that you have to beconsistent with what it is that
you do do.
I am not a fan of bi-weekly ormonthly episodes, just because
(20:46):
people get you know.
It's too much variance forpeople If they listen one week
but then it's not available thenext week and then they've got
to remember in three weeks timeto come back or they've got to
remember the following week.
It's just too much for people.
It needs to become a automatichabit that when they do X, they
listen to Y, and that's justwhat happens.
(21:08):
So the easier you can make itfor people, the more bingeable
your episodes are going to be.
So consistency is reallyimportant.
Now, if you are going to dosomething different to weekly, I
would highly recommend choosingserial podcasts instead, so
where 12 episodes kind of go outeach week, one after the other
(21:29):
for 12 weeks.
Then you take a break and thenyou start again at another time,
because then you can have likea mini launch for your new
series.
You can allude to people thatyou know the series is coming to
an end and when to expect thenew series, and you can prepare
your audience better.
So once they're back into theroutine of listening to your
series, they'll continue tolisten to it, and when it's not
(21:52):
there, they know, okay, it'scoming back and that person will
let me know when it's comingback.
So that's really important.
Audio quality is still really,really important in podcasting.
I am all for the more relaxed,conversational style podcast
episodes that aren't overlyedited.
(22:13):
You know I don't overly edit myepisodes but it is important to
have good sound quality and itis important that you listen
through to your episode and yousay would this be something I
want to listen to?
So for me I know that if I heartoo many filler words coming at
me in quick succession I'mgoing to stop listening, because
(22:34):
when I'm only listening itreally heightens that for me.
So I will take out a lot of theums that I will say during my
podcast episodes because I don'twant it to interfere with your
listening or understanding ofwhat it is that I'm saying.
And oftentimes it's justbecause I'm thinking, because I
don't do a lot of rehearsing formy podcast episodes before I
(22:57):
record them.
So I will often have thesepauses and I don't particularly
like silence.
So when I pause I will um andthen that is an interruption.
For you guys and for some peopleit's almost like at the end of
every sentence, the beginning ofevery sentence and then in the
middle of sentences, and it canreally take away from the
(23:20):
message that people are tryingto give.
So just be aware of that whenit comes to your editing.
But you don't have to edit outevery mistake.
You don't have to overly editand have every um gone.
I think that's kind ofunnatural and although it sounds
great it sounds very highlyproduced it takes away a bit of
(23:40):
that personality and a littlebit of that relatability, I
think.
So it depends on what you wantto go for as to how edited you
go.
But audio quality that soundquality is really important,
your niche and messaging clarity.
So it is really important toknow who you're speaking to and
know what you're telling them,and that is going to really help
(24:02):
you stand out in the podcastmarket.
So we have spoken before abouthow many podcasts there are in
the world around 5 million,which seems like a lot of
competition should I even bother?
But the reality is that thereis only around 350,000 that are
active podcasts, and an activepodcast is a podcast that has
(24:23):
uploaded more than one episodein a 12 month period.
So that will include lots ofpodcasts that aren't actually
active anymore, because 90% ofpodcasters who start a podcast
will quit after episode three.
So they could have uploadedthree episodes this year and not
uploaded another one, and theyare included in that 350,000
(24:46):
number, but they're not actuallyplanning on uploading anything
else.
But when you take the number,even if you take that large
number of 350,000, and then youdivide it by how many different
genres of podcasts there are andthen you divide it into the sub
niches of those genres, thereare not a lot of podcasts out
there talking about what it isthat you want to talk about.
(25:09):
And if you can niche down goodenough, good enough, that's
really bad English, donna.
Down.
Good enough, good enough,that's really bad English, donna
.
But if you can niche down intothat topic area, then it's
likely that you are going to bethe only one talking about it in
that way.
Now there are advantages anddisadvantages to hyper niching.
The advantage is you're goingto be the only one talking about
(25:29):
it.
So if somebody's searching forthat hyper niche topic, you're
going to be the one that comesup, but the audience size for it
is going to be much, muchsmaller.
So it would be much harder toget advertising opportunities
and sponsorship and it is goingto be harder to find those
listeners to begin with.
So just something to thinkabout on the niching aspect.
(25:51):
So podcasting remains a verypowerful tool for business
marketing.
It is such a good way ofshowcasing your knowledge and
your way of working so thatpeople can really get to know
and understand who you are.
So when that people are lookingto buy from you, oftentimes
(26:12):
they will go and search yoursocial medias and see what type
of person you are, especially ifit's a large purchase you know,
if we're talking over a coupleof hundred pounds people are
going to want to know a littlebit more about the person
they're buying for, and apodcast is a great way to give
them access to who you are, howyou teach and what your values
are.
So it's awesome for that,because if you're doing a
(26:35):
podcast every week, there couldbe hundreds of episodes Like I'm
on episode 197 now, no 297 now.
So that is a big number.
There is many, many episodesthat people can go back to and
listen and understand who I amas a person and what it is that
I'm trying to do.
So that is great.
It is also great to be able topull on those episodes.
(26:59):
So I heard Catherine and Julieat the Far Too Fabulous podcast
did this exactly this in anepisode a couple of weeks ago
where they alluded to an episodethey did right at the beginning
that they share with theirclients all the time, and it is
the episode on the four legs ofa chair.
Now they said that it's notcalled four legs of a chair and
(27:22):
I have told Catherine she needsto change it to say it is four
legs of a chair, because that'show they refer to it all the
time and that's what people aregoing to look for when they go
searching for that episode, andif people have got to search too
hard for something, they'llmove on to something else.
So if it's called four legs ofa chair by now fingers crossed,
it is.
You can go and listen to it.
It's the foundations of whatyou need to keep yourself
(27:45):
healthy and well and they talkabout it as four legs of a chair
and it's a really great episode.
But they allude to it all thetime on the podcast.
But they also talk to theirclients about it.
Tell their clients to go andlisten to it and that's what
your podcast can become.
It can become this resource thatnot only is new your regular
listeners listening to and newlisteners listening to, but you
(28:09):
can actually give it topotential clients, you know.
If they're wanting to know moreabout a particular topic, you
can share that with them.
So it's a really good way ofusing it as a marketing tool for
your business.
So one of the things that welike to use our podcast for as
well is to get engagement fromour audience.
(28:30):
So making email lists,communities around the podcast,
repurposing your content indifferent ways, are all ways to
engage your audience, and thatis something that will still be
really popular in 2025.
To use your podcast for thosepurposes.
So making sure that you've gota way of people signing up to
(28:51):
your email list, making surethat you are giving people some
way of connecting with youwhether that is just by
connecting with you on one ofyour social media platforms or
whether you have a dedicatedgroup for your podcast.
Either way, it's a great way ofconnecting with your audience
(29:11):
and them getting to have thatback and forth with you, rather
than just the one way streetthat podcasting is.
So looking at ways to adapt andstay ahead of the game.
Let's talk about some practicaltips.
So one of the things is toremember what I was saying at
the beginning about how you areshowing up in your podcast, when
(29:36):
I was talking about how longyour podcasts are.
You know your audience hasexpectations and you fulfilling
those expectations will keepyour audience coming back.
If you start changing too much,it's going to be jarring for
them.
So when you're looking at thetrends that you're seeing and
(30:04):
the different methods ofmonetizing that you're seeing
and all of this stuff, reallyconsider your audience in it
before you make any big changesand I would say test, test, test
, test.
Don't do anything as a solid.
This is a change forever and Iwould monitor your downloads and
your feedback that you'regetting on those changes and I
would make sure that you keep toyour core principles for your
podcast.
So what was the reason youstarted your podcast?
(30:24):
Is it fulfilling that reason?
If it is, then jumping on atrend isn't necessary.
If it isn't, then maybe one ofthese trends might help you to
reach that goal.
But you have to stay sort oftrue to the value of your but
(30:53):
you know how?
You know you really enjoyingsomething and then all of a
sudden there's ads put on it andit almost feels like they're
selling out because they're justjoining the bandwagon and
suddenly this show that youreally enjoyed because it was ad
free and you could just listenand you didn't have to listen to
, you know, random ads in themiddle of it becomes not the
(31:15):
thing that you were listening toand it takes away from it.
So just be really careful aboutthe things that you take on.
So for me, I don't ever seemyself and I won't say you know
never, say never.
But I don't ever see myselfdoing ads on the podcast, in
terms of like having ad spotsthat people would go on because
I could get HelloFresh on thepodcast.
In terms of like having adspots that people would go on
(31:35):
because I could get HelloFreshon the podcast, I could get a
coffee brand on the podcast.
I don't even drink coffee, youknow.
So there's no sort of controlover that for me.
But what I would consider is totalk about myself, talk about a
product or a service that I useand I love that, I would
(31:57):
recommend to you as a friend,and if I get a kickback from it,
then that's just a bonus.
But I don't want to bring youthings that I wouldn't 100%
believe in.
So that is one of the reasonswhy I have my kit listed down
below.
So if you're interested in thepodcast equipment that I use, I
have Amazon links in there.
(32:18):
So they are affiliate links,but it is stuff that I use or
stuff that I want to use.
There is one thing on therethat I am looking at buying soon
, but it's all the stuff that Iwould recommend for you.
So that doesn't feel bad to me.
It feels in alignment becauseit's what I use.
So my microphone is linked onthere.
(32:39):
I use it for every singlepodcast and I have done for the
last 280 episodes or somethingridiculous.
So I believe in this product.
So that aligns to me.
But having ads from generalcompanies like tv type ads,
radio type ads in the middle ofmy podcast doesn't feel genuine
(33:02):
to me.
That feels like a money grab tome and, like I say, I will
never say never.
Maybe there will come a daywhere that happens.
I don't see it happening, butthat's just what feels good to
me.
So you've got to do what feelsgood to you and you've got to
think about how your audienceare going to interpret that.
So just something to considerTools and strategies to help you
(33:24):
get ahead and stay ahead.
Look at using the automations,the AI stuff, because it can
really save you a lot of time.
And that's one of the thingsthat I think a lot of people are
concerned about when they'restarting a podcast is how much
time is it going to take?
If you can utilize AI andautomation and you can batch, it
(33:45):
takes up so much less time, andthat's the same for anything.
In reality.
You know, if you're blogging,if you're doing videos, if you
can batch and if you canautomate, then there is so much
time that can be saved.
So I would just say lean intothat, but don't forget to double
check what AI is saying.
(34:05):
And finally, I just want to saythat it is a great time to start
a podcast.
If you are thinking about it.
There is still so much roomwithin podcasting.
It is not like YouTube.
I think on YouTube there's like66 million channels out there
and a lot of them are active andsome of them that aren't active
(34:28):
still pop up in your feed.
It's crazy how YouTube works,but YouTube is quite a saturated
place, and that's not to saythat it's oversaturated and you
can't make things work overthere, but it is a lot of work
and it is a lot of effort to getyourself seen over there,
whereas podcasting it takes alittle less effort because there
(34:50):
is less competition at themoment.
It is still a great time tostart a podcast and if you are
in business, I think it is agreat way to showcase your
personality but also yourthoughts and feelings on your
area and showcase your knowledgeand your authority in the area
(35:11):
that you work in.
And I think being able toshowcase that to potential
clients in that way where itdoesn't feel pushy or salesy,
because at this particularmoment I'm not trying to sell
anybody anything.
I am just trying to share myknowledge with you to help you
move further in your business,and I don't know who you
listening are, so I can't betrying to sell to you because I
(35:36):
don't know you.
So there is that side of things.
And then you can also then sendpeople who are interested in
knowing more from you to yourpodcast so they can listen.
So when people are listening toyour podcast episode, they're
just being able to absorb whoyou are, what it is that you
like to talk about, what it isthat you do, what you're an
(35:59):
expert in your thoughts andfeelings, the way that you work
it, because everybody worksdifferently and they're getting
a sense of your personality andwhether they are actually
aligned with who you are andwhether that's somebody they
want to work with.
So that is a really good use ofpodcasting.
So I am going to shut up nowbecause I can hear how croaky my
voice is getting, so it is timeto take a break from speaking.
(36:24):
But if you are interested instarting your own podcast, I
would love to invite you to takea look at my program.
It's an eight week program.
You can go and find it atdonnaeedcom forward slash join.
There's obviously no pressure.
I'm not in front of you.
You can go to the website.
Don't go to the website, butyou will find all the
information about the podcastprogram there.
(36:45):
It's an eight-week program thatwill walk you step-by-step from
creating your podcast name andbrand through to publication of
your first three episodes, andyou will have me in your pocket
the whole entire time of thoseeight weeks as well.
So that's donnaecom forwardslash join.
If you want to go and find outmore about my program, don't
(37:06):
forget I have also got an eventcoming up.
Oh, my goodness, I can'tbelieve.
I almost forgot to talk aboutit this week, but I have now
released all of my speakers forthe podcast event.
It is running on the 3rd ofApril.
It will be linked in the shownotes below, but you can come
and listen to some fantasticspeakers talk about audience
(37:29):
building, productivity planning,productivity planning,
podcasting, mindset, money andalso we have got those two cat
sessions.
So my speakers are NicolaTonsaga, who is an author and
podcaster of being so Confident.
You are getting access to JanineConey, who is a brand and
(37:51):
visibility specialist.
You are getting access to thewonderful Andrea Rainsford, who
has built a fantastic communityof women and launched networking
events and in-person eventsover the last couple of years
that have been absolutelywonderful and people have loved
them.
You are getting access to DianeWatson, who was on the podcast
(38:14):
just before Christmas.
She's going to be talking allabout money.
She is the author of she CanProsper.
You are going to get access tome.
I am going to be talking aboutpodcasting.
I am going to be interviewed byone of my other guests how fun
is that?
And you are going to get tohear from Cheryl Ladlaw and she
is an AI expert.
(38:35):
So she's a website developerand AI expert and she's going to
be talking about AI in ourbusiness for productivity.
And then you are going to getthe wonderful cats.
Cat Gouge and Catherine Chapmanare coming to share their
expertise with us, which is aslightly different flair from
the podcast episodes.
So if you want to come and joinus, you can.
(38:56):
There are still early birdtickets available until the 28th
.
So run, don't walk.
Go and get your early birdticket.
Join us on the 3rd of April.
You can go to donnaeedcomforward slash birthday event.
That link will be in the shownotes and I will see you guys
next week.
Bye for now.
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