Podcasting offers tremendous potential for news media companies, but to leverage those opportunities, companies must first clearly understand why they want to launch one and identify their strategic objectives.

During the week’s Webinar, INMA members heard from Chris Stone, executive producer at The New Statesman, on How to add podcasts to your content mix. Stone, who previously launched podcasts for The Telegraph and The Evening Standard, said that podcasts are continuing to grow in popularity. The platforms they’re consumed on are expanding, and in the UK, 15% of listeners turn to YouTube as their platform of choice.

Understanding where your customers are and knowing how to reach them on that platform is something publishers should keep in mind, he said.

But the most important point to establish first is to define the purpose of the podcast. “We always need to understand the strategic objectives of what we’re trying to achieve with any new product that we release,” Stone noted. (Some of the worst reasons to start a podcast are because “it’s cool” or because everyone else is doing it.)

Once you know what you want to accomplish, he suggested thinking about whether a podcast is the best way to achieve that objective.

“There are some things that podcasts are really good at and there are some things that they are not so good at,” Stone said. “Podcasts are a brilliant way of fostering community with an engaged set of listeners who maybe share a very deep interest in a particular subject matter or a theme or a topic or even in your presenter.”

However, podcasts are not good at rapidly amplifying reach or making money quickly. Their algorithmic discovery isn’t very strong yet, “so you have to work quite hard to get your audiences.”

By outlining your company’s strategic objectives, you’ll not only see whether a podcast is the right fit but will also be able to use that as a guideline moving forward.

Making a stand-out podcast

As with the development of any new product, it’s critical to find a way to make your podcast stand out from others who are already in the space. Five key questions to ask are:

1. Who are you serving? This includes looking at your audience’s age, location, occupation, life circumstances, hobbies, and interests, etc.
2. What do they need? “Do they need updates and information and understanding? Or does your audience need something a bit softer? Can you define their needs emotionally — hope, solace, motivation?”
3. What can you make? Reviewing your company’s authority, expertise, reputation, talent, and resources can help determine what’s possible.
4. What can you sell? Looking at existing sales teams and their relationships is one starting point. Also, look at what previous clients they’ve worked with and where they’ve had success. This can be useful in identifying what the podcast should focus on.
5. Where do you stand in the market? This is a standard question to ask for any product launch; look at your competitors, what else is available, and how you’ll differentiate your podcast from others.

Answering those questions should lead to determining the next step — which is making the podcast on the topic you’ve settled on.

Launching a podcast

After determining the format of the podcast — which can range from a monologue or one-on-one interview to a multi-episode reported feature — Stone said the next step is to dig into the business of making a podcast.

There are three areas to focus on: production, distribution, and marketing.

Production needs will be determined by the complexity of the podcast. A monologue requires a simple setup of microphones, cables, and a multi-track recorder, while a more elaborate multi-episode reported series will need equipment such as cameras and editing software.

Distribution relies on a hosting platform, and there are many to choose from: “All of them have different pros and cons, so it’s worth shopping around.”

Before publishing your podcast, you’ll also need to think about which graphics you’ll use, the title, description, metadata, and what kind of Web site presence it will have. For most publishers, he said, that will mean creating a new section of your existing Web site.

The marketing step is often overlooked, but Stone reminded that “it’s the marketing that gets you the audience.” Because there’s no algorithm that’s truly effective for discovering podcasts, he said publishers should plan to build an entire marketing campaign for their new venture.

He shared information from the Ofcom 2023 UK Podcast Report, which showed that two of the most common ways for people to discover new podcasts are through social media or word of mouth. But a third source — through mentions or interviews on radio programmes — is worth considering.

“When you’re thinking about your marketing campaign, prioritise promotion on podcast platforms,” Stone said.

The path to profits

Podcasting is still trying to find ways to generate a consistent revenue stream, and Stone rolled out four of the most common practices for monetisation.    

1. Advertising: This involves setting up an account with a company that sells programmatic advertising. While cheap and easy to set up, the downside is that it requires a massive reach for it to earn a significant amount of money: “I would recommend this as an entry-level point, but it definitely is not going to put you into profit.”
2. Sponsorship: Host-read ads that provide the name of a sponsor and a special offer are a popular approach and can yield a good return. It can also become part of a wider, multi-format campaign that includes an online advertorial piece and an event sponsorship, for example. “The sales team loves these packages because it means they can craft something bespoke for the client, but also present an impressive well-padded package that has a lot in it for the customer.”
3. Branded content: This is a profitable, high-yielding approach that clients love because it lets them have a conversation with your audience and positions them as thought leaders: “It’s perfect because it works for the advertiser, it works for us, and it works very well for the audience.”
4. IP and licencing: This is a growing market in podcasting in which a production company or broadcaster buys rights and turns the podcast content into a movie. While it can be extremely lucrative, it’s also a harder deal to land: “The way to get into this is to have the content in the first place, and then connect with an agent who specialises in converting podcasts to IP sales,” Stone explained. “Then you give your content to them and let them do the work for you.”

Podcast success can be measured in different ways: number of downloads, shares, followers, engagement, etc. Stone said this is where having strategic objectives in place is crucial, as it provides the gauge by which success can be measured.

“One of the challenges with podcasts is that there isn’t much centralised data,” he said, so he pulls data from different sources to create monthly reports that align with his specific strategic objectives.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .