On Wednesday, February 17th, the SEJ ThinkTank was joined by Jerod Morris, Vice President of Rainmaker Digital, to talk about building email lists through podcasts. This hour-long webinar was moderated by our own Brent Csutoras and included a short Q&A session at the end.
Here are a few highlights from Jerod’s very informative webinar presentation:
Why Start a Podcast?
Jerod said that podcast awareness keeps growing. 33% of people have listened to a podcast at least once which has tripled since 2006, and that 17% of people have listened to a podcast in the last month.
He also mentioned that the market is attractive. Podcast consumers are affluent, where 36% make $75k/year or more. They are educated, where 85% attended college. And all are highly engaged where an average listener takes on 6 episodes per week!
Why Build an Email List?
Jerod highlighted that the ROI on email is 4,300%! Email is 40X better than Facebook or Twitter for acquiring customers. Building an email list means that you nurture your leads. Jerod stressed that a nurtured lead increases sales 20 percent more than a cold lead, and that 95% of those who opt into email messages from brands find messages somewhat or very useful.
A Simple 4-Step Plan
Step 1: Develop, Launch, and Run a Remarkable Show
It all starts with the content. If you are going to engage an audience, you should have a really good podcast. A remarkable show should be authentic. You should strategically find the intersection between you, your experiences, and your knowledge, and what the audience is looking for.
Know yourself. Know your audience. Find the intersection.
A remarkable show is meant to educate, entertain, inspire and to offer companionship. When people listen to podcasts, they let you into their heads, which is a very intimate form of companionship. You should also be there for your audience, and show up reliably over time. On the other hand, your podcast should also be profitable for you—whether it’s direct revenue, or indirect or intrinsic benefit.
Step 2: Craft a Compelling Incentive and Offer
You should create an incentive, something so good, that your audience can’t say no, and that they can’t find anywhere else. You can put together a free report of your best stuff that you can give out to your audience, or a timely email-only content, or a free course, or an access to a social community.
Your compelling offer should also be urgent, scarce, and convenient, that will provide value to your audience.
Step 3: Communicate That Offer Consistently
You will have to religiously communicate your message so your audience can grasp the idea, and eventually gain a recall.
Step 4: Deliver on (or Exceed) Your Promises. Transform Your Audience.
Honor your commitment to your audience. Go the extra mile to add value to your email. Your audience trusts you, so you have to value that trust, and be true to what you say. Every time an expectation is set and isn’t met, a little bit of trust erodes. But every time is set and met and exceeded, trust builds.
Take your audience to somewhere else, but know where you’re taking them. Give them something else aside from what they signed up for.
Watch the Full Recording of the Webinar
Want to learn more? We recorded the webinar so you can watch it from start to finish.
View Jerod’s Slides
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Image Credits
Featured image: Image by Paulo Bobita
