Radio Ink Magazine – August 12, 2019

36 RADIOINK•COM AUGUST 12, 2019

If someone in radio is looking to

quickly make a healthy income with

podcasting, quit before you start. You

have a better chance buying a lottery

ticket.

Tina Nole: If you’re interested in grow-

ing listener engagement, reaching new

audience, and building loyalty to your

station brand, try a podcast or two.

If you have someone who is super-

creative in your building and wants to

tell stories, get them behind a mic!

Don’t launch a podcast if you think it’s

radio.

Don’t launch a podcast like you do radio —

it’s different, and as soon as you recognize

and educate yourself on those differences,

you’ll be starting stronger than the rest.

Dave Beasing: Not to time-shift the

traffic reports, and not because it sort

of feels expected. Passion drives great

content. Always has, always will. If you

have something you’re dying to say —

and haven’t been able to say it — do a

podcast.

Mark Asquith: I grew up on radio and

love the connection that I felt with a

morning host or drivetime jock. I heard

that person every day for years and felt

like I knew them — I laughed with them,

empathized with them, and they became

a part of my day. But their time was lim-

ited, and they could only fit into my life

at times to suit their station schedule.

This is no longer true, and that allows

the talent to foster a relationship with

an audience outside of a network and

outside of a station, an audience that

follows them wherever they go. This is

not only valuable to the listener — they

get more of who they like when they

want it — but also to the talent and any

future stations recruiting that talent. In

short, it’s personal branding for radio

talent, and it should be encouraged.

Shannon Hernandez: If you’re in radio

right now and you want to start a pod-

cast, do it because you want to make an

impact on the lives of others. Whether

that is through humor or education,

make an intention to make an impact on

the world through your words. Be honest

with the content you create and bring

your audience closer to who you are as a

human so they can connect more deeply

with you.

I wouldn’t start a podcast with the

intention of making money immedi-

ately. That’s the wrong mindset, and

every time you become immediately

money-motivated, your podcast will fail.

If you are passionate about politics, fit-

ness, sports, comic books, Dungeons &

Dragons, fly fishing, automotive, beer,

wine, food (or whatever else), create

the podcast because you love it. You will

attract your tribe of individuals who will

be equally passionate and want to exist

in your orbit.

Don’t launch a podcast if you’re not

willing to put the work in on something

you are passionate about. That’s not a

passion podcast. That’s work.

Rob Greenlee: Because it is the future of

spoken word audio careers.

Matt Cundill: You know those times

when talent want to talk on air about

a subject that does not fit the brand or

can’t be told in detail in a PPM world?

That might be a podcast instead. Talent

that have a love for cooking, traveling,

wrestling, the local sports team, or even

The Bachelorette can share their stories

in greater detail through podcasts.

Remember to launch a podcast with a

yearlong plan that includes an episode

schedule, marketing plan, who will do

what, time commitments, audience

goals, and what happens to the RSS feed

and episodes when the show concludes.

Shannon Hernandez, Air Talent, KUPD-FM/Phoenix & Podcast Producer