Growing The Podcast Industry
Tags: podcast
Published: 2020-08-18 16:53:07

---
title: Growing The Podcast Industry
published: true
date: 2020-08-13 14:05:00 UTC
tags: podcasting
canonical_url: https://blog.openpodcast.xyz/growing-podcast-industry/
---

 ![Growing The Podcast Industry](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1577563682708-4f022ec774fb?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&w=2000&fit=max&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjExNzczfQ)

Once a host's podcast is at a level that satisfies them, they should look to grow the industry. When an industry grows, most of the industry benefits. For a podcast host, when the podcast industry grows, that might lead to more listeners for the podcast.

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### Help Up-and-Comers In The Industry

A host can help new podcast hosts to grow the up-and-coming host's following. An up-and-coming host will share the podcast with new people. Which will bring new listeners into the industry.

There are several methods a host can use to help up-and-coming hosts. One method is to have them as a guest on the podcast. Another method would be for a host to be a guest on their podcast. Both methods have the same impact. A host's audience would discover a new podcast. As well as the up-and-coming host's audience would grow. The host's benefit is that new listeners from the up-and-coming host's podcast will find a host's content. The new audience will listen to previous episodes or search for more content. They will find the content created with the host. New listeners might subscribe to the host's podcast after hearing their episode together.

### Start A Podcast Network

Starting a network will help any podcast host in the industry. Some hosts might struggle with some elements of podcasting. Creating a podcast network can help hosts. The network gives them community and resources.

A network can give everyone in the network more selling power for monetization. For example, If a network has 11 members and 1 member has 10,000 monthly downloads. While the others have 1,000 monthly downloads each. Everyone in the network benefits from approaching an advertiser together. The network can approach the advertiser and say, "we have a network of 20,000 monthly downloads." This might lead to a better deal for everyone involved. Any new member of the network can start monetizing a podcast right away.

### Use Other Mediums

To introduce people to the podcast industry, a host can use different mediums. A host can collaborate with creators in other industries. Instead of getting interviewed on a podcast, they can do a newsletter interview. Any newsletter reader that is unaware of podcasts will know about them after reading. Promoting through different mediums increases the likelihood that new people will discover podcasts.

### Use New Products

New products get introduced into an industry every day. Those products will be a new host's first introduction to podcasting. Some times when a product has problems, a user will give up on it. Which might lead them to give up on podcasting. A host can help prevent the issue by being a beta tester for new software. Getting feedback from an experienced podcast host will make the product better. A host can give feature requests to improve the product. Being a beta tester and reporting bugs means that a new host is less likely to run into the same problems.

### Ads

To bring new people into the industry, hosts can advertise on different mediums. A host can sponsor video channels with related content. Podcasting and videos are similar. For a video audience to make the transition from video to podcasts is not a big transition.

For example, a comedian could sponsor a video channel that analyzes stand-up specials. The subscribers of the channel are likely to make the transition. These subscribers already consume comedy content. In some cases, some viewers only listen to the videos but not watch the videos. These viewers might have an interest in a comedy podcast.

There is a blog somewhere that teaches people how to write jokes. To find new listeners, a comedian can sponsor the blog. The readers could have an interest in starting a career in comedy. They might want to hear a podcast from an experienced comedian. They could get some guidance to start their own comedy podcast. Once they start a podcast, a host can invite them to the podcast network.

Some potential listeners might consume content from traditional media companies. A host can buy ad space in a newspaper or magazine for the podcast.

Drivers listen to the radio while driving. A host can buy a billboard and advertise the podcast to drivers. They might not know about podcasts. At the same time, radio listeners might be more willing to switch to podcasts.

These are all alternative mediums. Some people consuming the content might not know about podcasts. Advertising with the mediums will make those consumers aware of podcasts.

### Work With Other Companies To Promote Podcasts

Many companies would benefit from the growth of the podcast industry. A host should reach out to those companies and pitch the idea of working together. One form of collaboration could be hosting an event that would bring more awareness to the industry.

### Work With Other Companies

In any industry, there is an organization of people that work together. Organizations improve the industry. Adding new members adds value to the organization. The organization will get a fresh perspective. A host can give them ideas that were not thought of before. The organization includes industry insiders. Anyone who joins the organization will be working with them. If they enjoy working with a host when the time comes, they will be willing to help them.

### Invest In New Products

Investing in products gives a host an incentive to help the product grow. As the product grows, new people will discover the industry. If a host were to invest in a company, then that would expand their customer base. The company could use the money to create new hosts. Those new customers might end up listening to the host's podcast.

### Answer Questions

When someone has a new interest, they will use search engines to gain more knowledge. At the same time, there are Q&A websites. On these sites, people look for answers. When someone answers the questions, they will show up in the results for search engines. A host can point people to resources in their answers.

### Create Content

When people want to learn a new skill, they look for resources. Creating content for those people will help them join the industry. A host could write a book about their experiences in podcasting. Helping readers avoid the same mistakes.

Online courses create a visual learning experience for the viewer. In a course, a host can go through the technical elements of starting a podcast.

The added benefit of books and courses is that they will establish the host as an expert. The content becomes another source of income for the host.

### Lectures

At some universities, professors want guest lecturers to talk with their students. A host can become a guest lecturer in the media or audio department. The majority of college students are in their 20s. A college student that works in the podcast industry out of college might work in the industry for 40 years.

### Host Conferences

A host can invite people to a conference. For some attendees, the conference might be their first experience with podcasts. After the conference, someone might start listening to podcasts or join the industry. By inviting people to a conference, a host can decide how to introduce someone to podcasting.

### Go To Conferences

If a host does not want to start a conference, they can find one. Giving a talk at a conference might be as impactful. When giving a talk, the speaker has most of the conference's attention. The talk is an opportunity for the attendees to learn about podcasting.

### Hire People

When people work in an industry, they add value to the industry. The more value added to the industry, the more it will grow. They will tell people that they work in the podcasting industry. If anyone does not know about podcasts, they will learn through the employee.

### Personal Selling

There are other forms of content creation. Some forms use the same equipment as podcasts. A host can use their podcast to sell content creators on the idea of starting a podcast. Inviting the different content creators to be a guest allows them to see the production of a podcast. After getting podcasting experience, they might want to start a podcast. Their core audience will start listening to their podcast. Those audience members that have not heard of a podcast might become listeners.

### Work With Other Podcast Hosts To Make Change

In every industry, there are issues. Several people in the industry might suffer from the same issue. Those people can work together to solve that issue. Solving the issue would help lower the barriers of entry for new people. Everyone that helped to solve the issue would benefit somehow. They can benefit financially or by having their name attached to the solution.

### Conclusion

The podcasting industry grows every year. Everyone in the industry benefits from that growth. Hosts that promote the industry grow their personal brand at the same time.

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This post is an excerpt from the Open Podcast Community book. The book is available for [purchase here](https://blog.openpodcast.xyz/podcast-book/).