Podcast: Patrick Hinds (True Crime Obsessed) and Stuart Last (Audioboom) on Creating Top Podcasts

EB Mossamp160 Stuart Audioboom is described as a global podcasting platform that consolidates the business of ondemand audio and makes that content accessible for podcasters advertisers and brandsamp160 In other words you amplify podcasts make them accessible and help with advertising Stuart Lastamp160 I think that39s a great summation of itamp160 Our technology platform allows you to upload your content and have it distributed out to Apple Spotify and Google Podcastsamp160 We39ll help you grow your audience through promoting your show across our network and help you understand that audience through an analytics packageamp160 Then we monetize that content for you through spot advertising or on the premium content end live readsamp160or host endorsementsMossamp160 Patrick produces his own show but Audioboom also creates original contentLastamp160 Rightamp160 We launched an original content network in October last yearamp160 We39re just about a year into it and have 11 shows in that network including the new Dead Man Talking a true crime documentaryMossamp160 Speaking of original Patrick I39ve become obsessed with True Crime Obsessedamp160which is a serious discussionamp160through a comedic lens about murderPatrick Hindsamp160amp160We didn39t invent that formula but we do have our own spin on itamp160 If you39re serious about true crime but also like to laugh then you39ll like True Crime Obsessedamp160 We recap true crime documentariesamp160 My cohost Gillian Pensavalle and I had this idea of doing this very straightforward threesegment showamp160 But when we recorded the pilot and began speaking about the documentary Gillian started cracking me upamp160 We found that you can laugh about true crime if you do it in a way where it39s not garbage and you39re not being a monster and laughing about the actual crimeamp160 Instead you39re laughing about how nobody in a documentary ever runs a damn comb through their hairMossamp160 Patrick you39re getting more than half a million people listening to every episode and Stuart you39re getting approximately 60 million across your podcast every monthamp160 How the heck do you get to those numbersamp160 StuartLastamp160 There are a few different parts to itamp160 There39s a purely business aspect which is paid promotion and spending money to market your podcast For example we have 2000 podcasts and can take a look at the audience within each one of those podcasts and then spend money on those shows to promote one of our new launchesamp160 When we launched the new true crime podcasts we asked Patrick to talk about it for usamp160 So buying advertising in other podcasts where there39s a likeminded audience is probably the lowest hanging fruit that there isHindsamp160 I have zero marketing backgroundamp160but I think the thing that we did right was understanding that you build a podcast audience one listener at a timeamp160amp160We takeamp160our social media really seriously and also spend almost every penny of our marketing budget on Facebook ads but we39re also in a listenercreated Facebook group five or six times a day and we do FaceTime with fan meet ups once a monthamp160 So I think that you can build an audience without spending moneyMossamp160 A key differentiator for podcasting is the relationship that the fans have with their favorite hosts and personalities Hindsamp160 Yes the more authentic you can be as a host the more people will respond to you listen to you and want to get to know youamp160 I had never heard a gay person host a true crimeamp160podcast and I didn39t know if there would be an audience for itamp160 But I was like quotI39m just gonna be mequotMossamp160 You39ve really leveraged that authenticity because your first live show sold out in about two hoursamp160 You also earn money through the advertising efforts of Audioboom and a subscription option for your biggest fansamp160 Can you talk about how that divvies upHindsamp160 When Audioboom first took us in we were getting like 10000 downloadsamp160 They were still selling ads but we weren39t making a lot of moneyamp160 So we looked at the Patreon modelamp160 Listeners pay five dollars a month and we have almost 5000 subscribersamp160Mossamp160 Stuart it39s so effective when in a bakedin ad the personalities talk about the sponsor as part of the fabric of the contentamp160 What percent of your sales are based on big personalities like Patrick doing reads versus dynamic insertionLastamp160amp160Right now about eightyfive percent of the sales are direct response and so rely on the personality of the host to sell the productamp160 That39s shiftingamp160 I think we39ll get to 75 percent over the next two years as the bigger brands come into the space and understand that the value of advertising in podcastingMossamp160 What are some of the obstacles to greater adoption by brands or listenersLastamp160 I think measurement has always been the biggest issueamp160 And there39s a long way to go on the content side as well before we bring in that huge audienceamp160 Where is the next big showamp160amp160Serial Season 1 was four years agoamp160 The 500000 podcasts out there should cover every topic but they don39t yetMossamp160 We39ve been niche at scale so far basicallyamp160 But audio in general is having its golden age again which is greatamp160 Any last thoughts Hindsamp160 I just wantamp160to say to any aspiring podcast producers that anybody can do itamp160 You can learn how to make a really topquality podcast for not that much moneyamp160 If this fool can figure out how to get five hundred thousand listeners anybody can do itamp160Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Podcast: Patrick Hinds (True Crime Obsessed) and Stuart Last (Audioboom) on Creating Top Podcasts

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Podcast: Patrick Hinds (True Crime Obsessed) and Stuart Last (Audioboom) on Creating Top Podcasts

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