Well, it’s the middle of the summer in this hemisphere, and it’s a good time to punctuate breaks in your work with activities to help you “sharpen the saw,” as Stephen Covey evangelized. Bryan and I have continued to focus on our ultimate goal – to build the trade organization for this industry that it needs to continue to level up, and with the ranks of Sounds Profitable partners cresting 180, we are thrilled to be able to take on initiatives that do just that.

A big part of that is education – something that is truly lacking in our industry and something incredibly important to me. My wife, Tamsen, and I each have multiple degrees (she actually just started working on a Doctorate from Teachers College at Columbia University, so I can say I am married to a college student), and for many of the disciplines we each pursue, there are readily available educational opportunities. But if you are in the business of podcasting, those opportunities are fewer and farther between.

I am delighted to see podcast courses show up at the university level, and my friend Steve Goldstein is doing something remarkable at NYU with his Business of Podcasting Course, which I am delighted to say I will be guest lecturing at later this year. If you aren’t lucky enough to be one of Steve’s students, however, it can be hard to find resources that truly help you build a career in this business. That’s why I am delighted this week to tell you about three initiatives that we have been working on here at Sounds Profitable, and I hope you will avail yourselves of these!

Building A Sales Pitch For Podcasting

I’ve been speaking in public about podcasting for 19 years now and about other things for even longer. Whenever I tell people that I am a raging introvert, they always point to my speaking as something that’s counterintuitive to that, but that’s not really what introversion is all about. The truth is, I enjoy making the case for podcasting and doing so whenever and wherever I can to help move the needle for our industry. I’ve probably presented 50 pitches to agencies in the last 12 months, and I want to do even more. 

The key to delivering a compelling case for podcasting is really the same as the key to producing a compelling podcast – understanding your audience and aligning with *their* goals, not yours. Still, I always feel bad when people ask me where I got my “training” for public speaking and presentations because it’s pretty much an unrepeatable process.

So, earlier this year, I challenged myself to build the best pitch I could for the ad sales part of the industry, a report we called The Safest Bet.

The work that went into that presentation doesn’t require you to have your own proprietary research; nor does it require you to get permission from anyone else – it just requires a mindset and an approach, and that is what I’d like to share with you. In two weeks, on Wednesday, August 7th, we will be hosting a free, one-hour webinar called Building A Sales Pitch For Podcasting. We think this will be invaluable training for account managers, sales professionals, and even individual podcasters who are tasked with revenue goals for their podcast or network.

In this webinar, I will break down the hidden, moving parts of The Safest Bet and talk about how to structure your own compelling sales deck, media kit, or one-sheet designed to make the case for your show, your company, or even the whole industry. I’ll be combining what I know about podcasting with what I have learned from hundreds of agency pitches, a thousand focus groups, and even my wacky background from teaching Rhetoric at Penn State into an actionable, useful approach to build your own podcast-focused sales presentations.

This training is free and open to anyone in the industry – you just have to register here.

Podcast Industry Operations 101

Bryan and I have also spent the better part of this year designing a training arc for industry professionals who want to understand the core concepts of the business, from what a download actually is to how we are all supposed to make money from this stuff. We worked with an educational consultant (our partners at KaSa Media) to design a full-day program that benefits everyone in the business of podcasting, from brand new to experienced veteran, by taking them through all of the components of the business of podcasting.

Among the topics covered in these training sessions are the following:

• Podcasting’s origins, definitions, and key concepts
• Technical training for non-technical personnel
• The sales process and the universe of stakeholders in that process
• Translating brand goals into podcast solutions
• Advertising operations and campaign execution
• Measurement and Reporting

It’s a lot, and participants get the FULL BRYAN AND TOM show. These training modules will be available shortly for partner companies to book. If you would like more information, hit reply to this email or use our contact form.

The Audience Is Listening

Finally, something I am personally very excited about. I’ve written a book about podcasting that I hope will help anyone who wants to make a better show. In my 30-year audio career, I’ve had the enormous privilege of working with some of the biggest shows in audio and the most successful audio companies around the world to craft audience-focused content that leaves deeper footprints. What I’ve learned from all of this is an arcane craft that really isn’t taught anywhere, and I really didn’t want that craft to disappear when those of us who practice it disappear on our golden Cybertruck Yachts into the sunset.

So, I’ve distilled and captured it all into a single, evergreen book called The Audience Is Listening. It’s available now on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats, and I’ve also got some special offers available for it here: www.audienceislisteningbook.com.

This is not a book about how to make a podcast – there are plenty of those. It’s also not a book about tech or microphones or anything else that will be out of date in a year. It’s meant to be a lasting resource about how to make a better podcast – one that actually entertains an audience – and a repeatable process to continue to get better.

Podcasters ultimately can focus on two things: mastering the tools of their craft and mastering their knowledge of an audience. The vast majority of creators spend most of their time in Column A and hardly any at all in Column B. If you want to learn to work of creating an audience-focused show that people will talk about, I’ve put everything I’ve learned into this book, and I hope it is of use to you.

If you are going to Podcast Movement, grab a copy now. I’ll be happy to sign it if you see me there—I’ll bring my best pen and everything. More here: www.audienceislisteningbook.com.

Bryan and I have a lot more planned for this industry, and it wouldn’t be possible without every single one of our wonderful partners. If you would like to learn more about partnership, please contact Bryan. But if not, we are still here for you—doing what we can to continue to level this industry up, build careers, and maximize the potential and value of podcasting to its fullest potential. Enjoy your summer!