In our last blog post you had the chance to read more about why you need a video to accompany your podcast. This time let’s chat about websites and why and if you need one.
Some people see having a website for their podcast as a trend and not a necessity, and I get why that may be so. If you Google the top podcasters they all have a website, but should a small, or upcoming podcaster follow in their footsteps?
It’s fair to say that, technically speaking, you don’t need a website as your podcast can be hosted on SoundCloud or somewhere similar.
However, I kindly suggest you consider having one for the following reasons.
Reaching your target audience
Let me first point out that, to start with, you can do just fine with a landing page if your budget is super tight, or a simple, one-two page website.
Your website should contain some info about you and your podcast, your podcast episodes, links to social media, a contact form, and an opt in to join your newsletter.
The important thing at this stage is to be able to capture emails of those interested in your podcast. Weather it is through the form of a newsletter, or from the contact form, having those addresses will enable you to get in touch with your listeners, share new and relevant info on a regular basis, and send out your business offers.
SEO
I’ve covered this one before in my previous article, but it’s super important, primarily for websites.
Having a website will get you one step closer to your desired audience, because it will help you appear in the search engines. For that to happen you need to optimize your website for relevant terms, make sure it loads fast enough, and so much more.
There are plenty of sources online to learn more about SEO from, but it is always advisable to hire a professional to help you out.
The better you are at optimizing your website for search engines, the higher the chance to rank at the top. Consequently, more visitors will be coming your way, so make sure to capture their attention.
Building community
For podcasters, this is the key to a successful career. And without a website, or social media presence, that is impossible.
When you only feature your podcast on streaming services, you make it impossible for someone to contact you and leave a message.
Why is this important? Well, you want your audience to be able to get in touch with you, connect, and get to know you better. At the end of the day, you don’t want to feel like a loner talking into the mic, but build a community with like-minded people and find your tribe.
You want to be able to have someone to share your ideas with, someone to learn from and have fun with. Don’t you?
By creating a space where you can communicate, educate, and share additional content, you and your listeners can thrive together. Cool, right?
Getting sponsorship deals for podcasts
I know this might seem far fetched to some, especially new podcasters, but you’d be surprised at the growing number of businesses that are looking for alternative channels to promote their products and services, as the traditional ones are getting pretty saturated.
If your podcast is niche enough, your content is very compelling, and their message is aligned with yours, they might look into ways to sponsor or collaborate with you. It’s a pretty rewarding feeling for a podcaster to be recognized for their work.
Now, imagine the horror of a business that discovers you, but can’t learn more about you nor contact you. And they may not be alone in their efforts.
Every such opportunity wasted can make a large impact on both your podcast, and your business.
Marketing and promotion
To spread the word about your podcast you need good content, and a little bit of magic in a form of marketing.
Investing your money wisely can help you promote your podcast and reach more listeners.
More listeners and more engagement-> more potential sponsors-> business growth
Good strategy and tracking analytics can help you grow your podcast and your business. Invest, earn, invest back in to earn even more.
But, none of this can happen unless you have a proper online presetation and a good and clear message.
Podcast directory
Last but not least, having a website can make for a good personal directory. Although all your podcast episodes can be found in places like iTunes, SoundCloud, etc, when you have a website you can display them, and categorize them as you please.
Above all, if you enable search option on your website, listeners will have the chance to search for keywords of their interest and go back to their favorite episodes in case they forget the episode title. Proper tagging and categorizing goes a long way.
Great thing about having a website is that you can aslo set up analytics and track the best performing content.
Conclusion
To conclude, setting up a website for your podcast is technically not a necessity, but from all of the above examples, I think you’ll agree that without it reaching your goals, selling your products or services, and growing your business would be quite a challenge.
It is always a good idea to consult a professional and let them help you make your podcasting journey a success!
My team would love to assist you, so should you need any help feel free to let us know! (link contact)
Thank you for reading!
Happy Podcasting,
Maya
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