Podcasts have become a great tool for content marketing. They build SEO, establish authority and are a great addition to your sales funnel. With 46 million people listening to podcasts on a monthly basis, having your own show (or being a regular guest or advertiser on a show) can be a great way to get in front of your target audience.
But, starting a podcast, though much easier now than five years ago, still takes a fair amount of time and financial investment. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, here are three questions you should be able to answer:
1. How tech savvy are you?
At the very least, you’ll need to understand how to use recording and editing software, know where to host your show, knowledge of the various platforms to publish your shows and how to set up an RSS feed.
2. How much money do you have to invest in podcasting tools?
Getting started doesn’t have to be expensive. You can be up an running with a smartphone and an external microphone. But, eventually you’ll want to upgrade your tools to create the best user experience.
3. How does the podcast fit into your sales and marketing goals?
Who is your audience? What format will the show take? How will you market it?
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If you’re not quite able to answer those three questions just yet, listening to other successful podcasts, and taking notes on your favorite aspects of each, is a good way to start to develop your own podcasting roadmap.
With that in mind, we asked our Hera Hub members which podcasts they listen to for advice, learning inspiration and motivation. Here are 25 great podcasts for entrepreneurs:
3. Freakonomics Radio
4. The Biz Chix
5. The Distance
10. ProBlogger
11. Oh So Pinteresting
12. The Charged Life with Brendon Burchard
13. The UnPodcast
14. Women Lead Radio
16. Planet Money
17. Startup
20. Online Marketing Made Easy
22. Seth Godin’s Starup School
24. Content Warfare
25. The Lively Show
Listening to and finding podcasts is really easy. Most shows can be listened to natively from their homepage if you’re on a desktop; or on the go with apps like Stitcher, Overcast 2, Fireside and Jabbercast.
Do you listen to any of these shows? Do you have a favorite not on this list? Let us know in the comments!
Thank you to the following Hera Hub members for contributing to this piece: Judi Bonilla, Gigi Irvin, Naz Kallel, Tiina Pajulampi and Shayda Moshirvaziri!
Images courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net and StartupStockPhotos.com
