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This post is part of an ongoing series that is based on the ebook "Top 21 marketing channels for membership sites Written by the Subscription Coach Amanda Northcutt.

 Download the entire series as an ebook

Make your own show

The process of starting your own podcast is a significant undertaking and your capacity to go each week each week is something to consider before committing. Many membership site owners have a hard time deciding whether to begin a podcast, or not because just as your SEO strategy It's a marathon not a sprint.

The marketplace for podcasts is inundated to this point. However, If you focus in-depth within your field it is likely that you will gain a critical mass of fans who will be qualified prospects for your membership site over time. Making your own show is one of the best ways to reach out to influential people as well as to be one of them!

But, you need to make a 12-18 month commitment to release 1-2 podcasts each week, to give this marketing channel an opportunity to succeed. It's akin to of running a fast Facebook campaign, which can be easily evaluated over a brief period of time. And just as with any other content type, I would recommend recording in batch, 4-10 in one sitting and not having to do it each week or several times each week to make an episode.

Podcasting is one of the most personal ways you can connect with potential customers on every level Sometimes, more so than the written word. Take care of your listeners. Show empathy and that you are able to understand the pain of your audience and have a way to help them: Your membership!

The subjects you discuss in your podcast ought to appeal to people who have the potential to become powerful users of your membership site. No one else matters. Similar to other marketing efforts, casting a wide web will draw in unqualified customers who will clog up your mailing list or worse, churn out extremely early. Again, going narrow and deep within your area of expertise is essential to your the success of your campaign.

Do not fool yourself into believing that the number of episode downloads is the sole measure you should be tracking, either. The questions you should be asking yourself to determine whether your business is succeeding include: Are listeners taking notice of my CTA and entering my marketing funnel? Are new members citing my podcast as one of the reasons they signed up or how they first heard about me? Are the credibility I'm building through my show helping establish relations and build trust with the influentials in my field? Are I using my podcast to connect with other people by having pertinent guests on my podcast?

Promoting your podcast on your list of email subscribers, current members, via social media channels, and influencers. Podcasts are an integral part of your content marketing strategy, though because it's such an undertaking, it deserves a category of its own among my top 21 lists.

Podcasting your own show can be a powerful way to market your business. However, don't begin until you're able to finish it. The next best way to host your podcast is to maintain continuous appearance as a guest on other peoples' podcasts.

Be a podcast guest

The same principles of guest blogging are applicable to this situation quite easily. People who are made the decision to run podcasts of their own are confronted with the same content production responsibility as bloggers. Reaching out to the right hosts using the proper approach could land you a handful of great guest spots and help ease the burden of the host.

In addition, if you run your own podcast and you are a guest on other podcasts will amplify your results with your podcast. For all we know, people who listen to podcasts listen to...podcasts.

However, regardless of whether you host an own show or not, you must always add an CTA when you have an opportunity to guest. CTAs could include downloading your lead magnet, to offer a promotion for your membership, a short consult, or any other thing related to your website. If you own your own podcast, certainly make it a point to invite the listeners of the podcast(s) that you're a guest to subscribe to yours too.

Begin by making some podcasts in which you can provide value and insight to your listeners. It is likely that these are influential industry podcasts, whose audience probably resembles the target market. Podcasts hosted by guest hosts can be a component of your natural influencer marketing strategy.

Avoid the mistake in reaching out the hosts with 100,000 subscribers first. Beginning small, you can gain knowledge and build a CV, and begin to climb the ranks of influencers.

An email sent to an host must include a few appreciation to them, their credentials for you (in a non-braggadocious way) and some examples of other podcasts that you've participated in and/or hyperlinks to your blog post and YouTube channel. Perhaps the topics you'd love to talk about during the interview.

Do not give up in the event of rejection. If you are rejected by a major influencer within your field for in the first, second or third timearound, refer to the organic influencer section here for a chance to create social capital with them prior to attempting to do it again.