The Power of Private Podcasting (+ Why You Should Consider It!)
I don't know about you but private podcasting has been a term I keep hearing lately and for good measure. There are a lot of awesome ways you can utilize it for both your podcast and your business. But, what is it?
One way to put it is, it's a podcast that doesn't have a public RSS feed. So, you can't just search the show on Apple or Spotify and have it come up. Instead, the owner of the private feed can distribute it as they want and only those with access can listen to it.
So, why bother with private podcasting when it's not like people can stumble upon your feed and discover you? Well, that's exactly what we're exploring today. Discover the numerous benefits of private podcasting for your business, along with practical tips on how to get started, best practices to follow, and more!
Let's jump in.
Benefits of Private Podcasting + How to Use It for Business
A private podcast is not going to do the same thing as a public one where it increases visibility and authority. Instead, there are a multitude of other benefits to it such as…
Increase your audience engagement and build a community. It can help establish deeper relationships and stronger connections with your audience. You can provide a more personalized experience and deliver exclusive, valuable content to them this way.
It can help save time. By helping you avoid the constant need to create new content. Unlike public podcasts that require a steady stream of episodes to maintain an audience, private podcasts can have a limited number of episodes or feature exclusive content that doesn’t require SEO or blogs for discoverability. This can save time and resources, plus, it’s another great source of content to repurpose.
Improve accessibility. Providing on-demand content is a great way to do this for your audience. For instance, if you have an online course that requires learners to watch videos and engage in activities, converting the content into a private audio feed can make it more accessible. This allows learners to access the material at their convenience, whether they’re on the go or prefer audio format. You can make it more accessible to a wider range of learners.
Bring in a new income. Turn your private podcast either into a paid membership to access the exclusive content or use your private podcast to boost your current business offerings adding an extra layer of value and differentiation that sets you apart.
You can see that there are a lot of convincing reasons to use a private podcast but how would you use it for your business?
Here are some ideas!
Use it as a freebie funnel for your business! Create a private audio feed that the listener can access once they sign up for your newsletter. Helping bring more people to your newsletter and increase your conversions.
Use it as an addition to your current offerings! So, using the course example again, if you have a course, turn it into a private feed as well. This gives your current and future students the option to listen to the material on the go or at their convenience, increasing the likelihood that they will complete the course. Alternatively, if you offer 1-on-1 training, this can be a great way to provide personalized feedback or advice without the need for a Zoom call. You would instead, record your coaching session or call as a private podcast and share the link with your client. This allows for a flexible and personalized experience that works with everyone’s schedule.
For exclusive content! If you have valuable content that you think would benefit your audience, but you’re not sure if you want to give it away for free, this can be a great way to go. This allows you to provide exclusive access to the content, either as part of a paid membership or to sign up for your newsletter (free but you do capture their email). By doing this, you can maintain the value of your content while also providing additional revenue streams.
How to Start A Private Podcast
You’ve made it this far and you’ve decided that a private podcast would be right for you. Here are the steps to help you get started:
Determine your audience and content. Your audience may be the same as your current podcast audience or different. But sit down and think about who this podcast would be for and what kind of content would you be sharing.
Choose a podcast hosting platform. After you’ve figured out question 1, you need to set up the actual podcast. The first thing is choose a platform that offers private podcasting. Your current hosting site might already have this option such as Captivate or your paid Membership program like Patreon. If not, Hello Audio is a platform we recommend.
Set up your podcast feed. Once you have your host set up, it’s important that your feed is properly set up and all other necessary settings are in place on your hosting platform. This will ensure that everything runs smoothly and is accessible to your intended audience.
Record and edit your episodes. All the nitty gritty is done, now it’s time to start recording and going through post-production on your episodes. How many you record is going to vary depending on what you are using your private podcast for. S0, if it’s a series you would just record and edit everything all at once. But if it’s ongoing you may only need to only do the first one or batch a few to get ahead of schedule.
Publish your episodes. Once you’ve recorded and put your episodes through post-production you can go ahead and take your podcast live. Although it will still remain private and accessible only to those with the link, you can use it as you see fit for your intended audience.
Share it! Once it’s live it’s time to share it. If you are using it as a freebie, you can begin promoting it on your social channels. But if you are using it for other reasons you may not be sharing it as publicly. It will all depend on what your private feed is for. But this is the time to make a plan and put it into action.
Review your Analytics. Similar to a public podcast, it’s important to track your private podcast based on the goals you set. For instance, if you’re using your private podcast to increase conversions for your paid community, you’ll want to analyze whether people are signing up for the funnel, listening to the private podcast, and engaging with the paid content. If not, you’ll need to determine why and make adjustments. Your tracking metrics will vary depending on your objectives, but it’s important to monitor how it’s doing to ensure it’s serving its intended purpose.
Best Practices for Private Podcasting
Even though the feed is private, it is still a podcast and you will be building a community that is going to be expecting you to provide what you say you will. So, here are my suggestions for best practices when it comes to private podcasting:
Be consistent. Now, if you are doing a series that only has so many episodes this won’t apply to you. But if you are creating a community with exclusive content then this will be important. You will want to set up a schedule and put out the content when you say you will otherwise, people will lose trust.
Encourage feedback from your community. This will help you build a community atmosphere and gain valuable insight on how to tailor your content to better suit their needs.
Always look to improve. This ties into feedback and I know it sounds like a no-brainer but it can be easy to full into a routine and forget to keep refining our work. But keeping in mind to regularly seek feedback and make adjustments will help keep your content fresh and engaging.
Podcasts are always improving including a private one. So don’t be afraid to try new things, ask your audience what is working (and not working), and have fun with it!
Challenges of Private Podcasting
Before I close out I do think it’s important to note that private podcasting does have some challenges. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still take a leap and give it a try but you should consider these things before beginning:
It can have a limited reach. Since it is a private feed as I mentioned at the start, that means a listener won’t just come across it. So, having limited access to it can limit the reach of the show.
There can be engagement struggles. Especially as you are beginning to build your community, your content might not be creating the engagement you are looking for. So, make sure you are creating relevant and interesting content for your target audience or they may lose interest or not engage at all.
Time-consuming. I know I said it can be time-saving but hear me out. Managing a private podcast in addition to your business and other shows can become time-consuming, especially if you have limited resources or are a one-person show. Plus, It can be frustrating to invest so much time and effort and not see the desired results in terms of newsletter sign-ups or whatever other goals you set for your private podcast. But don’t forget to stay patient and revise your strategies to figure out what works best for you.
Overall, I think it’s important to be aware of the potential challenges of private podcasting. However, recognizing these challenges shouldn’t discourage you from using private podcasting as a valuable business tool. Rather, it’s an opportunity to create plans and strategies to tackle them. It’s important to plan ahead, track metrics, and adjust content accordingly to achieve the goals you set that cater to your needs and objectives.
Conclusion
As you can see, using a private podcast for your business can be an effective way to build a community and improve engagement. By following these steps and best practices with your private feed, you can create a valuable resource that helps your business thrive.
So, this is your sign to find a way to use private podcasting for your business. You won’t know how it could change yours and reach your goals unless you try!
I hope that this post has provided you with helpful tips and inspiration for creating your own private podcast.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level with a private podcast, schedule a free discovery call with us to discuss your business needs and learn more about how our services can help you achieve your goals.
Aleea
