Why Do I Love Podcasts?
According to my Stitcher app, I have over 1035 hours of listening — that doesn't include audiobooks or stations on Audible OR the countless CDs I listened to before podcasting became a thing.
I love podcasting... and it might be for the pure fact that I am a multi-tasking fiend, so that I can do other things while listening and being immersed in knowledge and great storytelling. The worlds that open up are incredible!
But, I also want to dive in to why podcasting is great for your business, if you're curious as to why you even need to pitch yourself to be a podcast guest in the first place.
The 2017 Edison Research report on podcasting is compelling:
- 60% of the population — that's an estimated 168 million people — are familiar with the term "podcasting" and in fact, 40% of the American population (an estimated 112 million people) have listened to podcasts.
- Every month, 67 million people listen to podcasts!
- Currently, podcast listeners skew slightly more male, at 56% versus 44%.
- Monthly podcast listeners are primarily 18-34 (44%) or 35-54 (33%).
- Monthly podcast listeners are also mostly affluent and highly educated, with 45% of listeners earning anywhere between $75K annually to $150K annually or more.
- Every WEEK, there are an estimated 42 million people listening to podcasts!
- Weekly podcast listeners are even more devoted, spending up to 5 hours a week actively listening! In fact, they listen to an average of FIVE PODCASTS PER WEEK and are subscribed to an average of six.
And, when it comes to listening behavior, podcasters love instant gratification, with 77% listening immediately.
Best of all, podcast listeners are incredibly engaged, where 42% listen to the entire episode and 44% listen to most of the episode. Compare this to the teeny tiny conversion numbers you're supposed to celebrate when it comes to getting subscribers to open one of your emails or, more importantly, take action by clicking through! MailChimp reports a dismal 3% on average depending on your industry...
Let's take it another step further — if you want to talk about powerful word-of-mouth social sharing, 64% of active podcast listeners are also active on social media at least several times a day!
Podcasting continues to rise from 21-24% year after year. This particular report shares that there are huge underserved potential audiences for new forms of spoken word media and that the "audience is king", so the opportunities for your message to stand out to your ideal client is substantial.
And, your episode continues to live on in organic search results, further building yourself as an expert in your field. When showing up as a featured guest on a relevant podcast, you suddenly reach thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of new ears, ready to receive what you have to offer.
So... have you been featured on a podcast lately? Is there something holding you back? Are you ready to rock it in live interviews?
