If you’re like many freelancers, building a consistent pipeline of work from ideal clients is an ongoing challenge.
Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are getting more and more competitive, and traditional outbound sales tactics are falling short due to the sheer amount of noise online.
For these reasons, many freelancers are turning to podcasting as a new growth channel for their business.
Get Weekly Freelance Gigs via Email
Enter your freelancing address and we'll send you a FREE curated list of freelance jobs in your top category every week.
Those that utilize this medium to its fullest will find a variety of benefits that other mediums simply can’t compare to.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what Content Allies has found to be the top reasons why podcasting is a great way to level up your freelance business.
1) Podcasting Allows You to Build Authentic Relationships with Prospects
When considering starting a podcast, many of you probably immediately think of building an audience. Though attracting an audience has its benefits, you may be overlooking the value of being able to network with your prospects by inviting them to be guests on your podcast.
By hosting a niche-specific podcast, you have the chance to interview your ideal prospects. This allows you to start an authentic relationship that brings value to both parties.
In this situation, you’re not relying on traditional outbound methods that feel salesy. Instead, you’re sending an invitation to be part of something they can leverage to level up as well.
By coming on your show, they gain free access to your network of listeners and also have the chance to elevate their authority by sharing their expertise.
Providing this opportunity allows your relationship to be built on trust, and will keep you top of mind if your guest needs your help down the line.
2) Hosting a Podcast Boosts Your Authority Within a Network of Prospects and Partners
When looking to boost your authority or thought leadership status, podcasting is the quickest way to support these efforts. Industry leaders have much insight, and they’ll be sharing that insight on your show.
Not only does this showcase your guest’s expertise, but since it’s being shared on your platform, people will begin connecting the dots between your guest’s brand and yours.
By consistently bringing on high-level guests with engaging things to say, it won’t take long until your show becomes a go-to resource for industry-specific insight.
With this elevated status as a thought leader, you’re able to leverage your other content or marketing assets more effectively as well.
3) Repurposing Your Podcast Provides a Consistent Source of Content
As a freelancer, you should always be looking for ways to optimize your time. Between working on client projects and reaching out to prospects, internal content creation that supports your brand tends to get put on the backburner.
Luckily, by producing a podcast, you have a gold mine of content that you can easily repurpose into engaging content. If done effectively, all of your marketing efforts can revolve around your core podcast content.
From just one interview, you can repurpose the information into many types of content including:
- SEO articles
- Audiograms
- Video content
- Quote-based social posts
As many people prefer short and digestible content, grabbing bits of insight from your podcast works great to tailor to this audience. If they like your social content, they’ll likely listen to a full episode at some point.
Furthermore, you can send this repurposed content to your guests so they can share it with their network. This is an awesome promotional tactic and will enhance your reach at a much faster rate.
4) You Gain High-Level Insight from Your Guests’ Expertise
Since interviewing your guests is like having a free consulting session, you can level up your industry knowledge at a rapid pace.
By asking your guests questions related to things you may not know or are curious about, you can uncover information that you may not have had access to otherwise.
This structure is much like our podcast Freelance to Founder, where Clay and Preston coach freelancers every week on growing their business.
Surprisingly, many industry leaders don’t actually share much content. But, your podcast can serve as a platform for them to get their ideas out in the open and you can then reapply their insight to make you more effective in your field.
5) You’ll Attract New Inbound Leads
After you’ve been producing quality podcast episodes for a number of months, attracting a bigger audience becomes a possibility. As we talked about in the sections above, building an audience isn’t so much the main goal. It comes as a result of sharing valuable industry-specific information through your podcast.
The inbound leads that do come through this audience though will be ready and willing to learn more about your business.
In many cases, these are high converting leads because you’ve been able to engage them for 30-60 minutes through your podcast. This is a much more engaged lead than someone who just briefly read one of your blogs or glanced at your website.
Podcasting truly helps prospects form a connection and trust with your brand. Every episode they listen to is one step closer to them wanting to work with you.
6) You Can Open the Door to New Speaking & PR Opportunities
If you’re diligent about creating a memorable experience for your guests when they come on your show, there’s a good chance they’ll return the favor by having you as a guest on their podcast or other speaking platforms. Opportunities like these can go a long way for strengthening your influence in your industry.
These opportunities could include:
- Being interviewed on an industry influencer’s podcast
- Speaking at an industry-specific event
- Content collaborations
- Getting featured on a webinar
7) You’ll Expand your Skill Set and Freelance Offerings
By virtue of launching and maintaining a podcast, you’ll have to develop new skills which you may not already have.
As a freelancer, you’re probably a specialist in one or two skills such as writing, video editing, audio editing, graphic design, social media management, or project management. But, as a podcast producer who doesn’t team up with podcast agencies, you’ll have to get familiar with all of these skills if you choose to tackle your podcast by yourself.
This opens the door for you to get proficient at all aspects of podcast production, which positions you to be able to offer these services to your clients. Additionally, the podcast you’ll already be producing can serve as social proof of your work and abilities.
Podcasting Can Be the Key to Leveling Up Your Business
As we’ve seen, podcasting can be leveraged in many ways to help you reach your business objectives.
It’s quickly becoming the most effective way to network and build relationships with your ideal clients while elevating your authority in your industry.
It provides you with a consistent source of content to repurpose, helps you attract new leads, enhances your skills and knowledge, and opens the door to new speaking or PR opportunities.
While other outbound sales and marketing efforts are still valuable, podcasting can help you streamline all of these efforts and make them more effective.
Many freelancers have already found success with podcasting, and now it’s your turn.
Keep the conversation going...
Over 10,000 of us are having daily conversations over in our free Facebook group and we'd love to see you there. Join us!
