Do you find it difficult to rise and shine through the terrible noise or establish your authority and credibility?

You are not alone. A lot of entrepreneurs do.

And this is where strategically marketing your business helps you. A lot.

I say “strategically marketing” because marketing is nothing more than using the right medium to send the right message to the right people.

Nowadays podcasting is a powerful medium that could help share your message with the right audience…

Let’s take a look at 11 reasons that justify why podcasting should be the core of your marketing strategy.

Reason 1: It Costs Less Than Attending The Super Bowl

A lot of people wrongly think that starting a podcast is expensive.

You can definitely start with less than a $200 investment.

You can for example use an Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Microphoneas a high quality microphone, record and edit your show using free software, like Skype and Audacity, and host your show on Libsyn (starts at $5/month)

Of course, I am assuming that you already own a computer… if not, add a couple of hundred there…

Reason 2: See How Easily You Can Build A Great Relationship With Your Listeners

The way we do business today has changed. It is all about relationships. People to people.

Not business to business anymore. You deal with one person.

You want to know, like and trust that person.

As a business owner, you want to build your credibility and your authority on your platform.
Podcasting is a great way to share your knowledge and position yourself as an expert in your field.

You need to make your audience understand the amount of value that you can bring to their lives and businesses.

So your listeners will evaluate the quality of your content, but also the quality of the guests you bring on your show. If you deliver high quality, you are building trust, credibility and authority.

They need to make sure that you are as good as you are claiming to be.

Reason 3: A Dominant Tool To Create Relationships With Influencers

When you are starting a business, or even if your business is already established, connecting with influencers is huge.

The pre and post chat interviews are the gold mine occasions for you and your interviewee.

It is your chance to connect, exchange, share opinions and sometimes even share some valuable information. It is a first step to various collaborations with those guests.

Getting in touch with influencers can be done during live events, via email, on their blogs by adding comments regularly or via social media.

These collaborations could lead to joint ventures, products creation, online summits, speaking engagements, guest blogging, etc., even friendships!

Reason 4: It Is A Very Intimate Platform

Podcasting feels like you are sitting in your living room, talking to some friends.

And it is only authentic. You have no choice. There is no lie behind the microphone.

The way you communicate with people is the way they will perceive who you are. They will judge you by your tone, your smile, your energy and your dynamism.

They will evaluate if you are listening carefully to what your guest is saying, if you do the right interventions and ask the right questions.

Podcasting makes it also very easy to speak with your heart. And that is what your listeners are looking for: content, entertainment and emotions.

Talking is extremely powerful.

Reason 5: You Won’t Invest A Dime And You’ll Be In Front Of New Markets

Isn’t it amazing that podcasting gives you the opportunity to be heard in front of new markets? To spread your message even more?

When your guests decide to share their episode with their audience, it is profitable for them, but also for you.

They have the opportunity to share valuable content with their audience, building their authority and credibility by being a guest on someone else’s podcast, but also being heard by your listeners.

On your end, you are put in front of your guests’ audiences, which could eventually bring more traffic to your website and more subscribers to your list.

It’s a win-win situation, both for your guest and yourself.

And it doesn’t cost you anything.

Reason 6: A Simple Way To Create Valuable Content

When you decide to do an interview podcast, it takes you less time to prepare for it than if you wanted to write a blog post.

Don’t get me wrong here, you still have to do some research on your guest, his accomplishments, books, expertise in order to find the right questions to ask him, but it could definitely take you less time than writing a blog post.

Podcasting also gives you a break from writing.

It allows you to train yourself using your voice to communicate. It diversifies the way you share your information with your audience.

Reason 7: Podcasting Makes It Easy To Repurpose Your Content

Audios or recordings are easy to repurpose. You can definitely use the information you get from your podcast episodes into other services, coaching programs, products, e-books, etc.

And this information can be shared on different platforms in various forms.

For example, transcriptions of the interviews can be transformed into blog posts. Parts of several episodes can be assembled for an e-book. Interviews can be accessible via a membership site.

The more you use your creativity, the more you will find other ways to share your content.

Reason 8: Your Podcast Episodes Are Evergreen

Your podcasts episodes will never die, unless you voluntarily pull them offline.

They will be accessible forever to any listener, old or new.

Having all your episodes available on iTunes or Stitcher, for example, gives anybody the opportunity to come back to the recordings, when they need to listen again to a part they did not understand.

A new listener who finds your show today can have access to all your old episodes too in a quite simple way.

Reason 9: Create The Show That You Are In Total Control Of

This is what separates podcasts from radio shows.

Radio shows have a certain flow to respect, commercials to interrupt your program, certain songs that need to be broadcasted, and a certain length to respect.

With podcasting, you can talk as long as you want.

You are not stuck into a rigid platform.

You don’t have to play commercials.

Actually, you can have sponsors, but only if you have negotiated your conditions with them beforehand and you talk about them when “you” want on your show.

Nobody watches after you to see if all the content and flow was respected.

All these advantages allow you to be much more creative and bring more of “you” into your show!

You are your own boss and it’s fantastic!

Reason 10: It’s Trendy!

Get on the boat! If you don’t, all your competitors will and you’ll miss the cruise!

Podcasting is trendy. It’s growing. The average American listens to about 5.5 hours of audio per day. And 26% of their audio consumption is podcasting.

Another trendy realization is that people’s attention spans are less and less.

People also want to multitask.

They can listen to your podcast while jogging, cooking, driving, walking, training, etc. It is easy to consume.

Nowadays, everything can be transmitted to your smart phone. Everything is mobile! Our internet consumption is more and more directed to the mobile phone!

And so are your podcast episodes.

People have access to your show in a few seconds.

And soon, iTunes will be accessible in your car!

Reason 11: Target The Right Audience

People listening to your show have looked for it or are extremely interested in your topic.
You have direct access to your target market!

Therefore, you have more chances to create loyal listeners, always coming back for more.

If you develop a great interaction with your listeners, it is an easy way to answer people’s questions, address their concerns and provide them with the solution that they are looking for.

People know what a podcast is nowadays, much more than before.

And they are definitely looking for their topics of interest either on iTunes or Stitcher.

The number of available podcasts is growing more and more every day, but there are still much fewer podcasts than there are blogs.

Therefore, it is easier with podcasting to find your place.

To shine through the clutter…and to finally be noticed.

I assure you that if you are part of those podcasts who survive and keep going after ten episodes, your chances of being listened to are higher.

In case you did not know, the majority of podcasts don’t make it over episode seven.

So don’t hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity… or you’ll regret it.

Now, tell me: if you already have a podcast, share what it has done for you or your business and if you don’t, tell us what it will be about and when you intend to take action.