11 Reasons Coaches Should Start a Podcast in 2021

“Everyone has a podcast now!”

I don’t blame you for being skeptical about starting a podcast, especially in 2021. It feels like the time our parents got the hang of re-sharing motivational quotes on their Facebook. You’re like, “Okay I guess Facebook is legit and here to stay for a while.” It’s normal to wonder:

Did I miss the boat on podcasting?

Who am I to host a podcast anyway?

News flash. Only 51% of people in the U.S. have listened to a podcast at least once. THESE are the people who think EVERYONE has a podcast. I mean that’s just what happens when you consume several shows a week.

But that means there’s still 49% of folks out there who have no idea what it is or how to listen to one. In ‘real life’, you may be the only podcast they have ever heard of or care enough to listen to.

It’s still early enough to build a library of work that becomes a searchable knowledge base.

1 – Creating ‘content’ – the undeniable truth of being online

When you deconstruct what it takes to acquire and keep a client online, the RELATIONSHIP they have with you is everything. I don’t just mean making a personal touch here and there. I mean creating engaging content that continues to build trust, buy-in, and enthusiasm about your process. How and why?

Because YOU will be enthusiastic about whatever you talk about and they will feel that. Creating content in 2021 is breaking down the formula to it’s most basic element.

Everyone chooses different paths:

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • E-mail
  • YouTube
  • Blogging
  • etc

The end goal is for this content ot help you build enough trust that they reach out to you for coaching. That’s hard work. You have to give a lot to reap benefits like that.

So why not create in a format where you show up and get to be yourself for an hour while exploring ideas that your clients will thank you for (sometimes from halfway across the world). That’s right, one hour to help you create 5 hours worth of content (without sacrificing quality).

2 – Build an educational library that can be used to retain current clients and attract new ones

“I used to just send people like things I listened to that were impacting me because these people are like mentors or coaches to me. But they’re nobody to these other people. They’re just a topic or a resource of information. And so what people are really looking for I think is the connection to their coach. You don’t make podcasts and websites to get big and famous. You make them have tools to connect with your clients better.” – Coach, Blake S.

3 – Capture conversations that would happen anyway

“I really wanted to understand how can I reduplicate what that client’s experience was when she did four hours of the podcast with me to make the experience better. And so the power of recording yourself I’ve found is so important. So I don’t have to continue to repeat myself. So it was really just the conversations that you’re having on a regular basis with clients, you’re turning into helpful content that can be recorded and used and sent to more people to help more people. 

So it’s creating more change. And it’s also allowing my business to grow with me. It’s scaling me to not have to say the same thing that I know and it’s good, but at the same time, it helped me understand the value of how many conversations I could be having that I can’t have all at once. And so the podcast really allows me to have that creative edge, but also, that scalability to help me grow my business in a way that can help more people, but also expand what I’m trying to give to the health and fitness community.” – Blake S. 

4 – Capture conversations you never would have dreamed of

Dr. John Berardi is someone who I studied like a chess board. I admired his success while keeping firm boundaries around what’s important to him. Precision Nutrition’s language always made me feel seen and heard as a hungry coach who was thirsty for knowledge. They had blog posts I could google with my client problems and rely on finding actionable tips I may have needed for a client conversation happening in a few hours. His company has coached over 100,000 nutrition coaching clients with a system that just works. And I got to have a DREAM conversation with him ‘on-air’. 

Never saw that coming, but it meant so much to me and there’s information from this conversation I personally use to this day. And I would’ve gladly have paid for it too, but it happened for FREE!

5 – Training a sales team vs your content to offer coaching

What’s the point of getting a certification? Or having a sales call? Or someone booking a consult with you? The end goal is for these things to align you with more compatible clients. Ideally we want this hard work to pay off and make our lives easier. More respect = better clients? More money = more freedom?

Every piece of long form content you create (ex. podcasts, YouTube, blog posts) will become a working robot 24/7 without taking any days off. It will wait for someone to enter the shop, “Oh yeah I wanna lose weight without caring about the scale. I can’t take it anymore..How’d you know?!”

Podcasting allows you to show up and record freely. Then edit it down into tangible assets that compound over time. Unfortunately, this isn’t a loud speaker like a viral TikTok video. But if you’re in the game of building something that lasts even when all the platforms around us change one day, then podcasting is for you. I hate selling. That’s why I podcast. It just does it all for me.

6 – Create clips capturing authentic moments for social media (without spending endless hours per post)

Just because we play the ‘long game’ doesn’t mean we neglect what’s in front of us. Instagram and TikTok is a real thing. It can help you scale something in unbelievable ways. When we work with our podcast production clients, we provide 2 shareable clips that are optimized for:

  • YouTube Shorts
  • TikTok
  • IGTV
  • Instagram Reels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

I always have a tough time posting 2x a day on Instagram and engaging till my thumbs fall off. To stay visible, these clips are great because it gives people a very clear next step if they want to consume more of you.

“Go listen or watch the full episode.”

I understand that this whole game of business is about relationships. That’s why I’ve thought about how podcasting can help you cover the bases.

7 – Transcribe your podcast into a blog post for SEO so clients can find you

Being ‘Googleable’ feels good when you’ve built up a knowledge base. Why use blog posts? Do people still read those things? Yes and no. But here’s why you want to make sure your episodes end up on your website. Instead of giving YouTube, Apple, or Spotify the valuable ‘click’ that people give out so sparingly, you should use a page that is on your site.

We want someone to get lost in the shop looking at what else we have to offer. “Hmm they have a kettlebell program. Interesting. They also have 1 on 1 coaching. How much is it?”

This will come in handy when you are manually following up with people or directing your audience to a link. The people who will listen on Apple, Spotify, etc will do that anyways. At the end of the day we want them to click thru to your website.

Check out these 31 stats on SEO in 2021. Here are 3 I found fascinating:

  1. Updating and republishing old blog posts with new content and images can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%.
  2. In 2021 (to date), Google accounted for just over 70% of all global desktop search traffic
  3. 91% of all pages never get any organic traffic from Google, mostly due to the fact they don’t have backlinks.

8 – Answer FAQs, Objections, and anything that can’t fit inside your ‘PT hour’

Have you ever gotten stuck in a deep conversation with a client when you technically should be working on some admin stuff or programming for them? This is a common problem (even though it’s a good one) that you’ll have as your coaching roster grows. So why not think about all the questions you get asked every day. The stories you repeat over and over illustrate your points. You may be drawing a blank, but you’ll be surprised when you start to mine for them. This can save you so much time down the line by repelling clients who aren’t a good fit and attracting those who are. Do you want to improve your closing rate?

This is attacking the problem by the root so you can have better conversations. Clients who have listened to you on a podcast or stalked the clips you have on Instagram are prepared for that call.

“I didn’t even know what you looked like before we talked for the first time. But I knew your voice from the podcast.”

– Dawid P. – Remote Coaching Client from Warsaw, Poland

 

9 – Have content you can use for paid ads to dominate local markets

Not saying you have to take this approach. But especially if you own a brick and mortar location or would like clients from a local area, ads work in your favor when set up correctly. It just takes a lot of testing and patience, which most people can’t stomach. When the time is right, you can put $2-3 / day on certain FREE offers you have to capture leads for your business. What will get people to click onto this page? Clips from your show, client testimonials, and so forth.

10 – Connect with members / clients ‘on air’ that will organically match you with more of their personality type

It’s one thing when you claim something about your coaching offer. But it’s a whole different ball game when it’s coming from your clients. The specifics they give will be so relatable to EXACTLY the people you want to work with. It also provides deeper connections because you’ll learn little things about your client’s backstory and much more about why they choose to work with you.

Here’s a tip for these episodes. Ask them, “What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about working with me?” The answers you will get will be testimonials that you can use for your business in a very organic format.

“I started making pretty good money, and then the more business owners I spoke to, the more they kept saying, you need to continue to invest in your own business. [Podcasting] is an investment in my business. I see other trainers doing it and I really, really liked [Misbah]. I loved [his] energy. I’m always alone. I’m always doing things by myself, but it’s nice to have someone like [Misbah] helping me. That’s the only way you’re going to grow, is if you constantly are invested in it, financially and otherwise.” – Tish D. – Coach, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

11 – Starting a podcast is a time-effective way to document your ideas and make money off your fleeting thoughts

You can spend a shit ton of time thinking about your social media…but then nothing to show for it because of imposter syndrome. (I’ve been there and go back from time to time.)

Podcasting saves you at least  3 hours of week.

Lets say you spend 30 minutes making an Instagram post. If  you do that 7 times per week, you’re at 3.5 hours already.

Some people spend 3x more tahn that.

You can spend 10 hours a week thinking about content you would created .

But it’s not documented anywhere.

It’s all in your head.

Instead of having something to show for the 10 hours it’d documented as a conversation. The medium of podcasting allows you to create in a format that rewards learning, curiosity, and the exploration of ideas.

Not an expert on sleep? Talk to one! Hard work is being able to give enough value with sincerity to a small group of people. Doing that over a long period of time will build a strong relationship between you and a pool of potential clients.

It’s not about how many people are listening. It’s about the right person listening at the right time.

Bite-sized action items to go from dreaming to streaming your podcast.

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