WTR Discussion: Colin Gray, Podcasting to Grow Your Business

In order to grow a business, a lot of people take interest in creating a podcast where they get to talk about their niche and promote their services. But what does it actually take to get started in developing a successful podcast channel? A common roadblock that people run into when starting their podcasts is a lack of specificity in what they are trying to get across. Today, WTR welcomes Colin Gray, founder of https://www.thepodcasthost.com/ (The Podcast Host). In this episode, we will discuss the tools that you can use to further your success in terms of podcasting.

Ingenious tactics to accumulate wealth, for people who see things differently.
Colin Gray
Website: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/ (https://www.thePodcastHost.com)
Website: http://hostileworlds.net/ (http://hostileworlds.net)
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/colinmcgray (http://Uk.linkedin.com/in/colinmcgray)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepodcasthost (https://www.facebook.com/thepodcasthost)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thepodcasthost (http://twitter.com/thepodcasthost)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/colinmcgray (https://www.youtube.com/user/colinmcgray)
NOTES
[00:26] Kevin: Today's we're joined by Colin Gray, founder of The Podcast Host
[00:58] Today, we're going to be talking about podcasting to grow your business
[01:03] Would you give our listeners a little background about where you came from and what inspired you to get to where you are today?
[01:22] Colin: I was a teacher back in the day. I taught lectures how to use technology in their teachings
[01:38] I was asked to learn how podcasting works so that I could teach it to the lectures
[01:57] It's so personal; the attention is great (people can listen for a while)
[02:48] Today, we teach people how to run a podcast
[03:04] The whole aim is to make podcasting easy and to help anyone run their own podcast if they want
[03:53] Kevin: Why do you think podcasting is so important for any business owner today?
[03:58] Colin: The complaint I hear most often from people who want to start a podcast: how do I differentiate? How do I get more customers to find us?
[04:26] In terms of blogs, it's hard for you to get your personality across (you have to be a really good writer to convey who you are as a person)
[04:45] In terms of videos, you can start to get your personality across more so people can find out about you, but it's hard to make (a lot of technology needed and intimidation)
[04:57] In terms of podcasts, it is a way that you can create some content that shows people your personality, why you're different from your competition, and it's really easy to make
[05:15] Very personal (connect with people... trust building)
[06:04] Attention (people listen for a long time)
[08:24] Kevin: What would our listeners need to get started if they want to start a podcast channel?
[08:31] Colin: You actually don't need a lot, you can start really simply
[08:37] People procrastinate on starting their podcast (worrying about insignificant things)
[08:48] You need really simple gear to get started so there's nothing stopping you from recording
[09:02] USB microphone
[11:00] The most important thing for your first 10-20 episodes is consistency
[11:30] The easiest possible way is to literally press record on your smartphone and speaking into your phone if you have a decent smartphone
[11:57] If you're using cheaper gear, make sure you're in a good environment for recording
[13:24] There's something tangibly different about recording a practice episode you know will never be published and recording something that you know will be published
[13:50] Don't worry about the quality of your episodes when you start, you'll eventually get better
[14:06] Kevin: What kind of software do they need to get going?
Colin:
[14:12] Audacity is a free audio editor (easy to learn)
[14:38] If you want to learn how to use Audacity, we have a course of 5 videos or so on my YouTube channel

In order to grow a business, a lot of people take interest in creating a podcast where they get to talk about their niche and promote their services. But what does it actually take to get started in developing a successful podcast channel? A common roadblock that people run into when starting their podcasts is a lack of specificity in what they are trying to get across. Today, WTR welcomes Colin Gray, founder of The Podcast Host. In this episode, we will discuss the tools that you can use to further your success in terms of podcasting.

Ingenious tactics to accumulate wealth, for people who see things differently.

Colin Gray

Website: https://www.thePodcastHost.com

Website: http://hostileworlds.net

LinkedIn: http://Uk.linkedin.com/in/colinmcgray

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepodcasthost

Twitter: http://twitter.com/thepodcasthost

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/colinmcgray

NOTES

[00:26] Kevin: Today's we're joined by Colin Gray, founder of The Podcast Host[00:58] Today, we're going to be talking about podcasting to grow your business[01:03] Would you give our listeners a little background about where you came from and what inspired you to get to where you are today?[01:22] Colin: I was a teacher back in the day. I taught lectures how to use technology in their teachings[01:38] I was asked to learn how podcasting works so that I could teach it to the lectures[01:57] It's so personal; the attention is great (people can listen for a while)[02:48] Today, we teach people how to run a podcast[03:04] The whole aim is to make podcasting easy and to help anyone run their own podcast if they want[03:53] Kevin: Why do you think podcasting is so important for any business owner today?[03:58] Colin: The complaint I hear most often from people who want to start a podcast: how do I differentiate? How do I get more customers to find us?[04:26] In terms of blogs, it's hard for you to get your personality across (you have to be a really good writer to convey who you are as a person)[04:45] In terms of videos, you can start to get your personality across more so people can find out about you, but it's hard to make (a lot of technology needed and intimidation)[04:57] In terms of podcasts, it is a way that you can create some content that shows people your personality, why you're different from your competition, and it's really easy to make[05:15] Very personal (connect with people... trust building)[06:04] Attention (people listen for a long time)[08:24] Kevin: What would our listeners need to get started if they want to start a podcast channel?[08:31] Colin: You actually don't need a lot, you can start really simply[08:37] People procrastinate on starting their podcast (worrying about insignificant things)[08:48] You need really simple gear to get started so there's nothing stopping you from recording[09:02] USB microphone[11:00] The most important thing for your first 10-20 episodes is consistency[11:30] The easiest possible way is to literally press record on your smartphone and speaking into your phone if you have a decent smartphone[11:57] If you're using cheaper gear, make sure you're in a good environment for recording[13:24] There's something tangibly different about recording a practice episode you know will never be published and recording something that you know will be published[13:50] Don't worry about the quality of your episodes when you start, you'll eventually get better[14:06] Kevin: What kind of software do they need to get going?Colin:[14:12] Audacity is a free audio editor (easy to learn)[14:38] If you want to learn how to use Audacity, we have a course of 5 videos or so on my YouTube channel[14:57] Adobe Audition is a more professional audio editor[15:06] Paying nearly $30/month[15:13] Alitu[15:31] It all depends on what your priority is (whether you're willing to pay a little extra, spend a bit of extra time on it, etc.)[17:19] Kevin: In terms of hosting, what do you suggest people do when they're doing research and trying to look for hosts?[17:28] Colin: The host is important because that is what delivers your episode to the world[17:42] You do need a separate podcast hosting platform[18:18] Buzz Sprout[18:30] Captivate[18:50] Transistor[20:43] Kevin: When you're developing your show, what metrics can you use to figure out how well your show is doing?[20:48] Colin: Any good podcast host will give you download metrics so you can see solid numbers of how many people are downloading your show (not that useful though)[22:13] Small numbers can transfer just fine with podcasting though (particularly because podcasting is such a high conversion rate)[22:45] Downloads don't actually tell you if people are listening and for how long their listening[23:01] Engagement with your listeners[23:03] Measures the quality of your show a lot better[23:08] Asking people to get in touch (with hashtags)[23:33] Get specific (sparks a thought in people's minds and makes it easier for them to respond)[24:06] Mention your listeners names (gains loyalty and they're more likely to continue to listen to your content)[25:15] Kevin: Before we close for today, I'm going to ask you for a value bomb, which is in your experience, what is something our listeners can look to avoid doing and what they can do about it?Colin: They should be focusing on[25:39] The simplicity (people usually make it far too complicated)[26:16] Don't compare yourself to others, don't use downloads as a success metric[26:29] Differentiation/ Uniqueness (start specific, then branch out if you'd like)[29:19] It's okay to rebrand your podcast[29:42] Kevin: Anything else you would like to say to our listeners before we close for the day?[29:46] Colin: If anyone is interested in making podcasting a bit easier, it would be cool of you to try out our Alitu app (alitu.com)