In another post, we covered how NOT having a dedicated podcast website can cost you everything.
As in goodbye, forever.
And that’s IF the limitations of NOT having a dedicated podcast website were enough that nobody really noticed you were on the scene to begin with.
With that covered, let’s explore
Lots And Lots Of Reasons Why You Really, Really Want To Have A Dedicated Website For Your Podcast
First of all, having a dedicated website means:
You can design the layout and content however you want
You have total control, within the template you select, to design your episode posts and include banner/sidebar ads (for your own products/services/solutions as well as advertisers)
If you get deplatformed one place, you still have your own website where people can find your episodes
The sky is pretty much the limit on what you can do to capture leads and gain connected followers
Flexibility Is Cool. Now Let’s Make It Welcoming And Searchable
Even though your show is designed to support your business brand and attract new customers:
Keeping the show itself just one step (URL) away from your product and solutions website removes the “salesiness” from the equation and allows your listener to enjoy, without feeling the need to immediately commit to buying from you (or else leave)
You further leverage your keyphrase by having two websites (your business site and your show site), both optimized for it, in different ways
If your show name is also the name of your book, your book doesn’t have to be the same name as your business in order to feed it low-hanging-fruit organic visitors
Your show name can be catchy and BECOME a search phrase – this is how you get everyone buzzing about your show and telling their friends to tune in!
Your Loyal, Affluent, And Educated Will Feel More Like They Actually Belong…
Ponder this:
Holding a separate space for your show allows it to build its own following and community
Let’s say you have multiple lines of business and targeted prospects – keeping the show under a separate URL lets you cast a wider net when building out your subscriber database
Listeners and guests are (slightly, or greatly) more likely to share episodes with their audiences and followers when it’s about sharing your media, not your products/services/solutions
As a Celebrity Brand, your show gains the market authority to stand on its own, separate from what people pay you to do
…Because Of The Increased Message Flexibility You Gain For Your Podcast
Yes, there’s more:
If you want to test out messaging and topics that aren’t exactly in line with the business you identify as being in currently, you can do so through episode content
As you add multiple streams of income that may involve different business brands, it’s easier to leverage your existing MEDIA community than to dilute your existing PROSPECT brand
If you’re participating in a JV launch, you may earn more affiliate commissions by FIRST interviewing that other person, THEN saying to your list: “Was my interview with Mr. X great? Yes? Well, check out this special opportunity…”
You Could Get More Endorsements – Plus Make Friends Were Foes Used To Be
And yes, there’s MORE:
Some of your prospective guests may be leery about appearing on podcasts hosted by entrepreneurs because they feel their appearance could be viewed as an endorsement – if your podcast website is separate from your business site, they do not have to endorse your solutions
You may want to network with and interview direct competitors – you’ll get further when they don’t have to share a link to their own direct competition’s business website with their own tribe
Not only that, but interview guests who are loyal to your direct competitor may feel less like they’re engaging in betrayal by appearing on your show and sharing it with others
Furthermore, their audiences may be more receptive to tune into (and share) your show, since it’s no longer a “loyalty” question
A Dedicated Podcast Website Makes Your Episodes More Accessible – And Monetizable
To address the idea of simply adding a “podcast” page and blog category to your existing business-brand website:
On a website that already has all your products/services/solutions, your written blog, your page for meeting planners to book you, your lead-generating autopilot webinar, and all that other stuff, “Podcast” is just one of many menu tabs
Your show’s website homepage can be all your recent episodes, and you can more easily build links for your episode categories – more search engine marketing power!
External advertisers are more likely to pay for banner and sidebar ads on a website that’s not for a business, whether or not it’s a competitor
Oh, and were you intending to sell advertising space to other companies and have their banners and ads appear on your primary business and brand website that’s intended to get you more business? (That’s what I thought.)
Now, Let’s Play Some Long Game – And See Some Unforeseens
Let’s think long-term:
What if… you close down your current business website and start up under a different name? What happens to all those episodes if you change business URLs?
What if… you have multiple websites for your businesses, and you find the one you added your show to becomes the under-performer?
What if… your current business is something you do with a partner, and the partnership breaks up? In many business divorces, one partner gets the business URL, or both partners agree not to use the URL for X period of time (or ever again)
Your Podcast’s Dedicated Website Becomes Your 24/7/365 Unpaid Salesperson
It adds a lot of potential revenue to your business model by removing roadblocks and opening floodgates directly to the “incoming” valve of your bank account.
It opens the door to interview guests (read: prospects) you might miss out on otherwise.
Plus, it moves you ahead in line for consideration as a guest on other podcasts and media outlets.
THAT is how you exponentially reach more profitable customers!
