This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
If a podcast falls in the forest, will anyone hear it? People have been pondering that question for centuries. Also, what is the sound of one podcast clapping? Well, this listener today wants to know how to grow his new show without spending money on ads. He's worried that without dropping cash into Google or Facebook pockets, no one will pay attention.
Well, fortunately, I've got some ideas and comments. And by the way, a quick side note, this guy's home recording quality is really good. Over the past couple of months, I've noticed that a lot of people have upgraded their equipment at home with better microphones, webcams, etc. Presumably because of the pandemic and so much more remote work taking place, it really doesn't take a big investment at all to look and sound better. So with a couple hundred dollars, you can actually sound pretty good and look pretty good for your next online meeting or webinar, whatever it is you're doing. All right, side note aside, how to grow a podcast
without spending money on ads. That's what we're talking about in this episode. Hi, Chris, this is Stephen Henning from Billings, Montana, and I've been listening to the show for about two years now. My side hustle is a podcast. I spent my first three months making sure the audio quality was top notch and that I was growing in my interview skills. And now I'm ready to grow
the show's community and dip my toe into the world of advertising. So I have two questions related to podcast growth. First, I want to know how I can grow a show organically without putting money into Google or Facebook ads. I want to grow only from word of mouth and a strong social media brand. And I'm wondering if you think this is naive or misguided. Second, could you explain the difference
between affiliate advertising versus direct sponsorship and how each works for a podcast? What's the process for signing each kind? And should my ads sound different when I'm reading for one or the other? Can't wait to hear from you. And thanks again for all you do for the side hustle community. Hey, Stephen, what's good? Thanks so much for the question.
And congratulations on moving forward with this podcast. So let's see, what do I think? I think, well, I'm sorry to say, but I do believe Stephen is pretty naive and misguided. And the best thing he can do is kind of empty his savings account and give it all to Facebook and Google. And just, you know, let me know how that goes, Stephen. Okay. On second thought,
don't actually do that. I don't think it's naive or misguided at all to think that you can grow your brand, your podcast, or whatever it is, without, you know, giving all that money over to Google and Facebook, which often that's what happens, to be honest. There's a time and a place to spend money on ads, but so many people waste so much money that just kind of goes into the ether and doesn't really produce any kind of return. So when it comes to spending on launching a podcast, you know, if you hear a lot of ads for podcasts, it's often done by corporations that have a lot of money to spend or big networks. And there's no data driven connection between what they spend in the outcome. So the way that they think about it, you know, from a corporate perspective is,
we're going to spend, you know, $20,000 to launch the show or something. And then they're going to go and spend $20,000, you know, on radio ads or social media ads or on other shows. But that amount is just kind of determined, you know, in advance, and it's not really connected to the number of listeners who are going to ultimately subscribe and download and such. So, you know, if you get free money from a corporation to launch your podcast, then that's great. But assuming that's not an option, most podcasts are discovered through other podcasts.
I mean, that's kind of how the podcast discovery process works, because search engines are still trying to figure out what to do with podcasts, you know, because it's this audio format. And so obviously, like we have show notes for every episode, you know, that's one of the things we try to do to get ranked in Google. But a lot of people still don't listen to podcasts. So when it comes to referrals, well, everyone, first of all, go and check out Steven's show, it's called No Normal People. And no is spelled K N O W. So it's a bit of a play on words there,
no normal people, you can go to no normal people.com. Or of course, just search wherever you listen to podcasts. And I was looking on his website, and he has a quote there, the only normal people you know, are the ones you don't know very well. So clearly, he's thought a lot about his branding, his mission, his message, spent some time on that audio quality, which, you know, as you heard, sounds fantastic. So the number one and number two things you can do to grow a podcast are to be consistent, like, you know, to have a consistent publishing schedule, whatever it is, just to kind of keep doing what you say you're going to do. And that builds this trust and loyalty, even among a
small group of listeners. And then to find other shows that will mention yours, perhaps as a trade or exchange, or just because you're doing something interesting that their audience would also like. So I do think it's good to devote some time each week to kind of cultivating relationships, you know, reaching out, maybe doing some soft pitches. And then for that second question, Steven asked about the difference between affiliate advertising versus direct sponsorship. Steven, I'm wondering if you mean brand advertising versus direct response. Because those are the two
categories, affiliate advertising is a bit different. With brand advertising versus direct response, the difference is, you know, brand advertising, there's a company that's just buying an ad for a general campaign. There's not a specific URL that people are supposed to go to, which is being tracked. Whereas with direct response, like you might hear on this show or others, it's like go to this link, specific tracking link, you know, no normal people.com slash hustle, or whatever it might be, because someone's actually tracking like who signs up for which offers and all that kind of stuff. So affiliate advertising is just promoting something yourself where you are an affiliate for a merchant, you earn a commission on any sales you refer, but the company isn't paying for placement the way that they would for sponsorship. So
all things considered in this world, the actual sponsorship, whether brand or direct response is hugely better. So there you have it a few thoughts. Thank you so much, Steven, for listening and keep up the good work. Keep making your show. Everybody else out there who's trying to grow a podcast, let me know what you're working on. I'd love to give you some shout outs and do whatever I can
to help you grow your audience. I have benefited over the years from lots of people trying to help me and recommending stuff. So I'm always happy to hear from people. Send us your questions. Come to sidehustleschool.com slash questions. We are featuring them throughout the year, along with
updates from other listeners as they move forward with their projects. Thank you so much for listening. Do come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
