A podcast allows you to share and exchange information with your ideal client or customer, but to do that, you need to draw traffic to your podcast. From there, you should focus on building your email list. Having a podcast is one thing, but having an exchange of currency – in this case, your information and insight in exchange for your listener's email – is where you'll begin to see growth.

Once you have an email list, you can continue to nurture that relationship with your listener and eventually work to make them a customer in some way. You can build the relationship, create a community, and share your products and services with your email subscribers.

This is especially helpful when most of your business is done online. There's no telling when a social media platform will go down–or worse, if you get kicked off or removed from a platform. We all know what happens when Instagram and Facebook go offline. It's like panic and chaos, and people don't know what to do with themselves. They run to Twitter to try to make sense of the world. Business owners who rely solely on Facebook are no exception, especially when sales come to a screeching halt. With an email list, you'll always have your ideal client or customer at your fingertips. If social media went away forever, you'd still have your list. If you haven't already, begin working toward building your email list immediately!

💡 Legal Pro Tip: I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that if you collect personal information (like an email list), you absolutely NEED to ensure that you have an appropriate privacy policy on your website to ensure you have privacy law compliance. You don’t want to open yourself up to legal liability just by collecting emails and personal information.)

Every podcast is an opportunity to create additional content with minimal effort. There are numerous ways to do this, and the more shareable content you create, the better your chance of reaching new people and expanding your brand.

If you're video recording your podcast, consider sharing clips of the video on Instagram Reels or Stories, Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts. This is a great way to reach new people. Create blog posts for every podcast you record, and embed the recording within the post. You could also use Canva or Inshot to create image quotes of important points made within your podcast. These are highly shareable and can easily draw attention to your podcast and brand. 

💡 Yet another legal tip: If you plan to have someone help you create this content, including graphics, video editing, and more, make sure you own the rights to the content created. Have a strong independent contractor agreement with your third-party contractors to ensure that you have ownership, which can only be transferred in writing.

Another way to use your podcast to grow your business is to consistently engage with your audience. This could mean asking your audience for questions and addressing those questions within your podcast episode, or asking listeners to share the podcast episode on their social media, ensuring they tag you in the post.

You'll need a landing page to collect emails if you want to use your podcast to grow your business. There are plenty of resources to help you create landing pages. You'll just need to figure out what you're going to offer your audience in exchange for their email.

You could share a checklist or freebie related to your industry, write an e-book or guide that is of interest to them, or create a mini-course or video series that provides a solution to their biggest pain point. And, if you haven't already determined what problems your audience is trying to solve, that should be your first step. Think about what questions you're continually asked, and provide ways to solve that problem. Then share the solution through your chosen lead magnet.

💡 Bonus, yep another legal tip: Make sure you’ve got copyright (and other legal) disclaimers and policies for your freemiums, so people know they can’t just copy your work as their own.

If you're just getting started with your podcast, it's important to have the right tools and resources in place to protect your podcast. Our Podcast Guest Agreement ensures that both you and your guests know what to expect, and that the entire podcast recording runs smoothly and seamlessly.

If you're ready to start funding your business by monetizing your podcast, the Podcast Speaker Agreement will help you put your best foot forward, as it lays out the details and expectations around the sponsorship. For those ready to jump in with both feet, our Podcaster Bundle includes both agreements and a Transfer of Copyright template, so you can ensure ownership of any commissioned creative works you have created for your brand; think podcast music and brand logos. 

If you’re not already part of The Protected Community on Facebook, head over there today and follow us on Instagram for everything you need to know about protecting your business.

Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice nor forms an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Hughley Smith Law.