How to Convert Podcasts into Revenue
There are many benefits to starting a podcast, including boosting your authority status, having a steady stream of content to share, and building an audience around your product or services.
But the biggest benefit that isn’t always considered by new podcasters is having the ability to form lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with the guests you bring on your show.
By strategically inviting guests onto your podcast that can become potential partners, customers, or referral sources, you position yourself to be able to generate revenue from these relationships.
In this post, we will explore why podcasting is a great revenue-generating channel and the different ways you can approach converting your podcast into revenue.
The ROI of Podcasting
In our experience of hosting and producing hundreds of podcast episodes, you can expect 10% of your guests to convert into customers, partners, or referral sources. On the surface, this may not seem like a lot, but if you’re a B2B leader selling high-ticket services or products, you don’t need a super high conversion rate for the podcast to bring in substantial revenue.
Furthermore, the 10% of guests that convert are extremely engaged and much more valuable than any other type of prospect. These relationships are rooted in trust and reciprocity, which will lead to ongoing business opportunities well beyond your initial engagement.
Qualifying Your Podcast Guests
The first step in converting your podcast into revenue is selecting the right guests to be on your show. To maximize your time and efforts, every guest you invite should have the potential to become a partner, customer, and or referral source. Your guests don’t need to exclusively fall into one category or the other, but it’s helpful to have an idea about how you want to frame the relationship.
We’ve found that the best guests to invite to your show are the leaders and decision-makers within the company you’re targeting. Other employees at the company may be able to bring value to a conversation, but if they don’t have the right influence or buying power, they’re less likely to convert into a revenue-generating relationship.
Another thing to remember when selecting guests is to choose people that will also benefit from being on your show. These types of relationships don’t work if they’re only one-sided. You need to understand what type of value you’re bringing to the guest and make it known how this opportunity will benefit them.
Types of Relationships
Customers: A customer relationship is obviously one where you’re able to directly sell your services or products to one of your guests.
Partnerships: A partnership is more of a collaborative relationship in which you can make an appearance on a guest’s podcast, webinar, or even write a guest blog post for their website.
These types of appearances put you directly in front of your guest’s network, which should align with who your ideal customers are. Generating this kind of reach can provide some serious lead volume and help you scale more quickly.
Forming this type of relationship is also typically easier than converting a guest directly into a customer. And the best part is these partnerships will often turn into a customer relationship down the line.
Referral sources: A referral source can be considered a type of partnership, but the relationship is less collaborative than the partnerships described above. If you’re able to gain a guest’s trust and periodically nurture the relationship, it’s likely they will refer you to their network if someone they know needs your services.
Approaches to Building Revenue Generating Relationships
Though we’ve outlined two different approaches to building relationships below, it’s common to use a combination of both methods throughout your relationship with a guest. What works best often depends on what type of salesperson you are and your ability to understand what approach you think your guest will respond to best.
Direct Approach
Taking a direct approach involves making your offer known right after the first interview. For those of you that are more “sales” savvy, this might work well. This doesn’t need to be pushy in any way, but by making your guest aware of your offering and the value you bring to the table, it gives them a chance to jump on the opportunity.
This approach can be scary for some, but just remember you really don’t have much to lose by respectfully making your offer known. If the guest isn’t interested, that’s totally fine. You’ll have many other opportunities to nurture that relationship and generate interest later on.
The key is to make it known that regardless of your guest’s immediate interest, you’ll still be bringing them value by way of free PR and sharing of the podcast content.
Slow and Steady Approach
The slow and steady approach is all about nurturing your relationships with the long game in mind. Some guests won’t want to feel like they’re in a sales process right after a show, which means you need to make the relationship-building feel as natural as possible.
The best way to do this is by simply letting your guest know how you’re going to bring value to them after the show, and then wait to circle back to your core offering at a later date. You can share their content, tag them in social posts, invite them to other speaking opportunities, or even send them materials they would find interesting.
A great time to circle back to your offering is when the guest’s episode starts going live. As you are sending them the social materials for the show, it gives you a chance to reopen the dialogue with them. Once again, this doesn’t need to be overly salesly, you're just making your offering and value known.
Start Converting Your Podcast into Revenue Today
As we’ve seen, forming mutually beneficial relationships with your podcast guests is a sure-fire way to generate more revenue from your podcast. Whether your guests turn into partners, customers, or referral sources, there are many benefits to reap.
Interested in leveling up your own B2B podcast?
Content Allies can help your B2B company launch and maintain a revenue-generating podcast.
We schedule interviews between you and your ideal prospects and strategic partners.
You show up and have engaging conversations, we handle everything else.
Start growing your business through podcasting today.