6 Reasons to Start Your Podcast RIGHT NOW

Hey Friend!

Let’s talk about why podcasting is the bee’s knees for a hot minute. Podcasting has allowed me to get off almost every social-related channel I thought I needed to grow my business – Instagram-free for a year and a half, no TikTok, don’t get on LinkedIn, and don’t share on Twitter. 

We have the podcast, where interns repurpose it into blog posts, but it’s a slow grow and long-game ROI. We share on Pinterest and have a Facebook Community. It’s freeing to know I don’t have to be tied to my phone or social media to grow this business.

The podcast has 1.24 million downloads, with over 52,000 per month. We reach people all over the world with this podcast, and I’m sitting in my comfy clothes at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, drinking kombucha, while my boys play in a fort they built in the living room.

#BestLife – you know what I’m sayin’?

We’ve sold multiple courses today. All passively, straight from the podcast. Our organic traffic converts at a 9.5% rate, which is impressive. Conversion rates like that are a long-term game as you get better at sales and marketing, and you have the strategies I teach you in Podcast to Profit, my 6-month group coaching mastermind program for podcasters.

This is all because I said ‘yes’ to this crazy idea – actually, a dream that came true after I prayed. I felt that God answered my prayer in a dream in October 2018. He said, “Start a podcast.”

I plugged in a $20 microphone I had lying around, and the rest is history. I want you to stop waiting on the platform that could change everything for you, and most importantly, give you your time back, while helping you make money, grow an audience, and create Kingdom impact.

Podcasting Statistics

Before I share six reasons you should start your podcast right now, I want to share some statistics about podcasting. According to Edison Research, the number of Americans who listen to podcasts has increased by 155% since 2014. As of 2021, an estimated 80 million Americans are regular podcast listeners. 

Podcasts allow for a deeper level of engagement, which creates trust. Listeners are highly engaged, spending an average of six hours and 39 minutes listening each week. How much would you have to show up on social to get someone to focus on you for six hours and forty minutes?

I believe that’s impossible these days. Our attention span, as of 2023, is eight seconds. How sad is that? Capturing engagement for six hours and forty minutes is legit.

A study by Edison Research shows 45% of monthly podcast listeners have a household income of $75,000 or more, and 51% have a college degree or higher. This means your podcast listeners are educated, likely willing to learn and improve, and potentially open to investing with you.

Speaking of investing, a study by Midroll found 63% of listeners have purchased a product or service advertised on a podcast. More than half the people who listen to shows spend money through the podcast they trust. 

That’s incredible news for an aspiring podcaster to have this confidence: when you show up consistently, have great content, and launch strategically so it gets found, you’re going to have traction, gain results, and ultimately make money straight from your show.

Hopefully, you can see that podcasting is a growing industry. People are highly engaged and are in a buying mindset. This opportunity is prime for you to get your foot in the door. It’s go-time, girl!

Reason #1 to Start Your Podcast Now

There is a low barrier to entry.

While starting a podcast doesn’t take a ton of money, it also doesn’t take a ton of expertise. What you do need is a microphone, a computer, a hosting platform, and a podcast strategy (which I provide in Podcast Pro University).

While a low barrier to entry is excellent, it can also be a negative thing if you just throw spaghetti at the wall and hope your podcast will become a top-tier show. It doesn’t work that way. We need to come in with the right components so our podcast will shine, stand out, and be highly converting, clicked, subscribed to, and shared.

Reason #2 to Start Your Podcast Now

A podcast can help you reach a wider audience passively.

People are learning 24/7. We live in a consumer, crazy, distracted world, like it or not; we consistently watch videos and listen to content over reading. We have discovered, as a company, that our students are having a tough time reading. They want to watch a video. They want to be told what to do. I think this comes back to us being highly distracted with an overstimulated mindset. 

The excellent news for you, as a soon-to-be podcaster, is that you’re going to have an audio platform. This allows people to do their dishes or drive and listen to music. This platform reaches a much wider audience than typing, writing, or even video.

Reason #3 to Start Your Podcast Now

You’re able to build authority and credibility so much faster.

Podcasting establishes you as an expert within your niche, which is something I’m incredibly passionate about, and helps build credibility with your audience because they’re more likely to listen to you. If someone loves your stuff, they’re going to subscribe and binge-listen.

The thing I hear most from y’all is, “I just found you, Stef. I have binge-listened to so many episodes.” That’s creating rapport between you and me. It’s building trust, and you’re getting to know me. You have an open mind to see what else I have out there; check out my resources or one of my workshops.

It builds authority and credibility on this expedited level.

Reason #4 to Start Your Podcast Now

No shelf-life.

Unlike social media posts or blog articles, which have a short lifespan, podcast episodes can remain relevant, not just for years to come but forever. You can continue to attract new listeners from old episodes. Some of my top-downloaded episodes are from years ago because podcast episodes stay on the platform and are continually shown when someone searches for a topic or key phrase in your podcast title. 

Talking about SEO, podcast SEO is one of the things we’re most excited about over here at Stefanie Gass. I want to teach you how to implement that right into your show, so you have a beautiful, long-game creation where your podcast episodes consistently work for you, even while you sleep and vacation, for years to come.

Reason #5 to Start Your Podcast Now

Podcasting gives you quick monetization opportunities.

You can start coaching quickly right from your podcast. It’s something I teach in Podcast to Profit on how to get my students to coach, mentor, or meet with people to teach them something. It’s a super quick way to start generating revenue from your show. I’m super excited that it’s one of the methods we teach.

Reason #6 to Start Your Podcast Now

There is so much flexibility and complete ownership in podcasting.

You get to decide what this looks like. If you want to bring your faith into your show, nobody’s censoring you. If you want to bring on guests, great. Want a solo show? Great. How about one five-minute episode a day? Great. If you’re going to podcast once a week and have a 30-minute episode, fine. It is entirely flexible.

It is customizable and can work for you in your busy life, based on your goals, who you’re serving, and what you want your podcast to do for you in your life, business, or mission. 

Ready for Podcasting?

It’s time to stop thinking about it; it’s time to stop wondering if now’s the time. It’s time to stop thinking that maybe if you waited a little longer,  your life would open up and you’d have more time.

News Flash: Life never just gets easier! Life never just settles down. It keeps throwing stuff your way. 

The best thing you can do is decide to start. Go for it! Take this beautiful leap of faith and trust that if you’ve been led to this show, it’s not by accident. I believe God has brought you and me together to help you think that your voice, your message, and your mission are worth it! The world needs you! 

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to be an extrovert. I’m living my best introvert life over here – I’m a closet introvert, y’all. You may think I’m super extroverted, but that’s not the case.

It is all about taking action before you’re ready. That is where the fire will refine you. It’s where you will push yourself, where you grow in confidence, and you see what you are capable of doing.

You are capable of so much because you are in Christ. You will have His supernatural power and His anointing on your voice, message, and words. God’s got you! He’s got your podcast. 

The best news is that nothing is forever. If you start your podcast and it’s a little rough, we’ll fix it up together. We’re going to refine it. If you end up needing to rebrand down the road, it’s not the end of the world. I’m three rebrands in, baby! We’re the biggest show we’ve ever been. I started messy and I started scrappy. I was unsure, but I started.

It’s Time to Start Podcasting

Now it’s your time to start. It is your time to shine. I want you to be free from all the ways the world says you have to show up and grow your business. You can grow a simple business in less time than you ever thought possible, and that is free, easy, and light; completely centered on Godly principles and God’s Word.

That’s what I stand for and hope you’ll stand for too as a podcaster. We will bring love, light, and wisdom to all of our shows, no matter what our niche might be. God wants to use you in your specific niche to show people His light and to be the light.

I cannot wait to be your coach, mentor, and friend through this process. So excited about what God is doing through your life and your business, and how you’re going to be able to glorify Him through this Kingdom work.

I pray this blesses you!

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