I heard it every conference. “Build your platform!” Along with the dreaded social media, writers in sessions kept telling us to be consistent with a blog.
But I didn’t read blogs anymore. No one I knew kept up with an RSS blog feed. What did the younger generation do? Looking around at my friends, they listened to podcasts.
As a musician and songwriter, I had the recording equipment and the tech knowhow in GarageBand. So I began to brainstorm and research.
What could I do on a podcast that supported and supplemented my writing career?
An author friend also got excited about the podcast, and so we began Brew & Ink, a story podcast where we wrote a chapter and gave the audience choices which influenced the next chapter. It was fun, and we also generated eBooks we could give away for email addresses.
I also started a ministry podcast, Kingdom Over Coffee.
Over time, these podcasts have been great tools for networking and platform building, many in ways I didn’t expect. A side note: Kingdom Over Coffee has grown far more the past couple years. Brew & Ink is on hold for a while (my friend has had to step away for personal reasons), although we have almost 3,000 on our email list from that podcast alone.
If you’re an author, you should podcast.
Yes, there are a ton of them, but the market continues to grow, especially internationally as more and more people get access to internet and smart phones. You don’t need a huge audience, anyway, just enough to connect with others on a shared interest.
Things I experienced from podcasting (and why you should, too):
- Be a better speaker. Listening to my own voice was awful. I said “um” way too much. In a world where we have to be more comfortable speaking in front of a camera, even as authors, this is a valuable skill.
- More networking. At first, I had friends on my podcast. I interviewed other authors or pastors I knew, depending on the podcast. Once I was consistent, guests started suggesting people outside of my circle. I’ve interviewed directors of Christian films, persecuted missionaries, and authors on the NYT bestsellers list.
- A way to be generous. I picked a topic (or topics) I loved to talk about and gave away information about it in conversation form. It’s free to listen to a podcast, and I can help promote my guests and their current projects.
- People get to hear my voice. Writing can and should have personality. We should write with our voice. But much of communication is nonverbal, so I can relate more of my personality, quirks, and meaning (and sarcasm!) through my voice, even more through sound and video, if your podcast is also on YouTube.
- A reason to email my lists. Got a new podcast coming out? Now I have a free thing to share with my email list. Those emails can also have other information about me as an author, but an interesting podcast episode is a great reason to contact your email list.
You can get started way easier than you think.
If you have a computer or a decent phone, you can start quickly. Good equipment is cheaper and more accessible than ever. Come up with a topic you’re fascinated by that is also broad enough to have numerous conversations and guests. Or perhaps you’ll have a partner or friend on the podcast every week and continue to have discussions on that topic.
Find a couple podcasts you enjoy listening to and explore what you like about them. Come up with a title for your own, have fun, and start engaging with people and guests about interesting and impactful subjects. Podcasting is a great way to build an audience by being kind and generous. Start today!
Britt Mooney loves to live and tell great stories with God. A pastor, podcaster, and author, Britt lives in Suwanee GA on adventure with his amazing wife, Becca, their three creative kids, and a dog.
For his Podcasting 101 class go to Serious Writer Academy
Follow him on FB @KingdomOverCoffee, IG @authormbmooney, and YouTube @greatstorieschangetheworld
