Build a Winning Podcast for Your Association

Association professionals unsure of where to start when it comes to launching a podcast walked away from the 2023 ASAE Annual Meeting with some first steps.

Panelists Linda Guild, CAE, IOM, of The Guild Associates Inc., Bill Thorne of the National Retail Federation, and Stephen George of Twin Flames Studios discussed their experiences launching and building successful podcasts.

The first point of emphasis the panel made was that you have to set realistic expectations when launching a podcast. They are not "build it and they will come" endeavors. Building an audience takes time, and you have to lean on both your organization and your audience for help.

For any podcast to be a success, they said, relevancy is key. NRF's podcast, Retail Gets Real, hosted by Thorne, is successful because it's not just the host interviewing a guest each week. They have conversations and tell stories with people who are interesting and have something to say. There's variety in their guests as well - they're not all from the C-suite of the top retailers (although a few of those have been featured as well when they had a great story).

Future or growing podcasters need to know what success looks like from the outset and how you know when you've reached it, whether it's through analytics like downloads or subscribes, feedback and engagement, or guests reaching out to you wanting to be actively involved. Whatever your goal, a podcast will not grow without intentional marketing, both by the association hosts and their guests.

Finally, the panel discussed monetizing podcasts. They recommended working with sponsors who made sense and were a natural fit with the content of the show. When budgeting for a podcast, an association has to ask, "Am I doing this for the non-dues revenue or for the member value?" That will help drive the sponsorship and advertising efforts.