Recently, I’ve talked to a few Swarfcast listeners who are considering starting their own podcast shows, so I thought it made sense to make an episode discussing the merits of hosting a podcast as well as some advice if you want to build one successfully.

I’m really excited about my guest today because he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about how to grow and monetize a podcast, my podcast coach, Kevin Chemidlin, host of the podcast Grow the Show.

Even if you don’t want to start podcast, I think a lot of listeners/readers will enjoy this episode.

We talk about entrepreneurship, marketing, and creating a business that is in a category of one.

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Listen with the player at the bottom of the page or at your favorite podcast app.

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Noah Graff: Would creating a podcast help small- to medium-sized manufacturers listening to this show?

Kevin Chemidlin: It can absolutely help all of them. I am not going to say that they all should (start a show) because I don’t believe in absolutes like that.

The biggest benefit that a business owner gets from a podcast is using it as a lead nurturing mechanism. It serves to deepen your relationship with your customers and your prospects.

It doesn’t really become a lead generation mechanism until a little bit further down the line when you have a larger audience.

Graff: Is it possible that it could bring leads sooner than that?

Chemidlin: It’s not a law, but I would put my money on it taking a while because a podcast is not inherently a medium that goes viral. You could launch a TikTok account and potentially get leads right away.

You could do it with YouTube. You could do it with some of the social media platforms that should have viral reach. But podcasts do not go viral for the most part. They’re a longer game.

It’s more of a depth play. Listeners are much harder fought, but they are a hundred times more valuable than a TikTok follower. If your episode is 45 minutes, that’s the equivalent to 45 TikToks, and that’s just if they listen to one episode. That’s why for business owners, it can serve as a fantastic differentiator and relationship deepener for your clients and your prospects. 

Graff: On your show, you talk about how a podcast needs to integrate with social media, email lists, and blogs.

Chemidlin: Exactly. I recommend that if you are going to get into podcasts, you think about it as a content ecosystem. 

You don’t have to (promote it with social media), but I do recommend at least showing up. And at the very least, it serves as an incredible networking tool to get you connected with guests and listeners.

Graff: On your show you talk about a “listener funnel.” Explain what that is.

Chemidlin: When I talk about the listener funnel, what I intend to do is have podcasters design the journey that someone will go through when they go from being a stranger to a listener to a customer.

You want to actually answer the question, “What am I going to do so people who currently don’t know this show exists discover that it does, and do so in a way that makes it highly likely for them to actually press play and listen to one episode?”

Then, after that, rather than doing what a lot of podcasters do, just putting episodes out there and fingers crossed, hope these people click on my website and buy my thing, you actually intentionally design. 

What am I going to tell them to do? What is the next thing that they click on?

After that, what page do they go to? How do they actually set up a call with me or go to the buying page or whatever your sales process is?

Graff: Your podcast promotes a podcast coaching program that seems to produce an easily quantifiable measurement for new customers. This is a much different scenario than a podcast hosted by the owner of a high volume machining company. 

Chemidlin: I would say to any business owner that is listening, if you are considering launching a podcast, think about your customer base as a whole, and then from there, think about what type of podcast do those people want to listen to?

You don’t have to make a podcast about screws. You could tell stories in manufacturing history.

It’s a longer term play. It’s not a direct response. It’s a branding play. It’s a differentiation play. 

Graff: Any quick advice for podcasters out there?

Chemidlin: You can always improve your craft.

I make a living explaining the tactics of growth to people. It takes a month to understand how targeted podcast pitching works. It takes a month to really understand how social media works.

The craft of the show is something that is worth constantly honing forever. It’s like saying to business owners you should work on your product.

You’re competing with Netflix. You’re competing with Tim Ferriss. You’re competing with Joe Rogan. One of the ways that you can mitigate that is to have a truly unique show. 

You have a really unique show here, which is good, but at the same time, your listeners chose to listen to this over the other five to eight podcasts that they listen to on a regular basis. And those are massive shows that have $40,000 per month budgets. 

Graff: So you better be good at your craft.

Chemidlin: You’ve got to be good.

Questions: If you started a podcast, what would it be about?

What are your favorite podcasts? (Besides Swarfcast)