You love writing and you are enjoying a steady stream of clients at the moment but how sustainable is your writing business?
For a moment – step out of the shoes of a writer and start thinking like a business owner. For your writing business to grow, you need to have a plan in place to consistently attract new clients, strengthen relationships with existing ones and build a strong brand identity.
While blogs and social media channels are effective marketing tools, considering the increasing competition in this domain, it’s important to do something different.
Have you ever thought of starting a podcast channel to market your writing business?
32% of Americans listen to podcasts monthly – and that number is only expected to grow, making it a useful promotional tool for your business.
Not just that, podcasts are also easy to consume and let you strike a deeper connect with your audience owing to its immersive storytelling format.
Here are 5 ways to use podcasts to market your writing business and attract well-paying clients.
Create Targeted Content
The first rule of podcasting success is understanding your target audience and establishing a niche for your podcast.
If your writing business focusses on blog posts, website content, case studies and other forms of content marketing, your target audience is likely to be business owners and marketers. Similarly, if your business specializes in book ghostwriting, you need to be targeting authors.
Once you establish a niche, do keyword research and understand what your audience’s pain points and questions are to come up with interesting content ides. Having a niche gives your content direction, enabling you to create content specifically targeted to your ideal audience.
Build Authority
Trust is fundamental in client relationships and podcasting helps you build that.
When you share valuable content through podcast episodes, you’re able to establish authority in your niche. It gets easier for people to instill trust in your business’ capabilities which results in more clients.
So, while planning the content for your podcast, ensure you make it detailed and focus on imparting value because that’s the only way you can establish yourself as an expert, make your business stand out and appeal to new listeners.
Interview Industry Experts
Podcasting does not always have to include a solo host. It’s a good idea to invite guests on your show from time to time to break the monotony and introduce your listeners to fresh perspectives.
Invite industry experts and thought leaders and have them share their valuable tips and advice. This is also a great way to network and spread the word about your podcast (and writing business).
When you’re interviewing industry experts, make sure you’re prepared. Let them know beforehand what the topic of discussion will be and ensure your guest/s and listeners have an enjoyable experience.
Feature on Other Podcasts
Another way to market your business is to feature as a guest on other podcast shows.
Do research on Apple’s iTunes’ podcast directory or other online directories and make a list of podcasts that speak to a similar audience and interview guests on their show. For instance, if you run a content marketing writing business, it would be good to reach out to marketing podcasts.
Don’t wait for podcast hosts to reach out to you – there’s nothing wrong in writing to them and expressing your interest in being featured on their show.
Repurpose your Podcast
As a small business owner, you’re sure to be dealing with time and budget constraints.
Considering the time and effort that’s put in behind podcasts, you should look at repurposing podcast episodes. Content repurposing is beneficial for SEO purposes and lets you boost your content marketing efforts to attain wider reach.
There are different ways to repurpose podcasts such as publishing a written transcript of the episode on your blog for people who prefer reading, creating bite-sized videos for YouTube and even posting quotes or excerpts on social media.
Podcasting requires a solid content strategy, quality equipment and consistency. What’s important is understanding what your audience needs in order to truly strike a chord and reach new potential clients to grow your writing business.
Adela Belin is a content marketer and blogger at Writers Per Hour. She is passionate about sharing stories with a hope to make a difference in people’s lives and contribute to their personal and professional growth. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Podcasts stock photo by spaxiax/Shutterstock
