Put it up: How to grow your brand with podcasts

Of all the ways to grow your brand, one of the more overlooked opportunities is podcasting, which can allow your fans to get to know you more and give you more opportunities to promote yourself as a person and a musician.

According to WordPlay T. Jay, who has his own podcast called “No Rhyme or Reason” with Icarus Gray, podcasting is great because episodes are always available for people to find and enjoy, and it presents an easy opportunity for someone to come into your realm and learn about you on a deeper level as a person and find ways to connect with you.

“Podcasts give you exposure to people like you that are interested in the same things,” T. Jay said. “It allows you to communicate with those people on a different level and talk about things you are both interested in. It is also a way to create consistent content and new opportunities for people to find you.”

When it comes to creating a podcast, the first step is to have a way to record. This can be done on a smart device, with a microphone and computer or using a professional microphone or a Blue Snowball USB microphone. There is also tons of free software, like Audacity, that you can use to edit the audio.

Secondly, you need to find a host site for the podcast. This is the website that will house the MP3 file that must be online prior to distribution. Typically, you can embed the file in a blog post on a website, but you can also use SoundCloud.

After you find a host, the next step is distribution. Podcasts can be sent to places like Apple Music, Spotify or Google Play, and to do so, you have to create an RSS feed, have an account with the distributor and submit the RSS feed link for the distributor’s system to take what it needs and send it out.

“It sounds complicated, but there are all kinds of tutorials that show you how to create a feed and get podcasts out there,” T. Jay said.

Finally, once the podcast is live, you have to promote. Share links so people can find the podcast and subscribe. Grow an audience and continue telling people about other things that you do outside of the podcast.

“It’s about growing your brand so you connect with more people,” T. Jay said. “You don’t do it just to pitch your music, but as you grow, you can promote your music. There’s also a chance people will search your name and find your other work on their own.”

For a bit more on podcasting and its benefits, check out the video below!