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This blog post is part a series, based on the book 'Top 21 Marketing channels for membership sites', written by The Subscription Coach Amanda Northcutt.

 Download the whole series in a book

Create your own podcast

The process of starting your own podcast is an enormous undertaking, and your ability to follow each week each week is something to consider before committing. Many membership site owners have a hard time deciding whether to start one or not because just like the SEO plan, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

The podcast market is saturated at this point, but If you focus deep within your niche then you'll likely build a significant number of followers who are qualified members for your site over time. The creation of your own podcast is an excellent way to open doors to influencers and to become one yourself!

However, you must make a 12-18 month commitment and release at least 1-2 podcasts per week, in order to give this method of marketing the chance to be successful. This is akin to the opposite of running a quick Facebook campaign, which can be easily evaluated in a relatively short time. Just like with other kind of content I suggest recording your episodes in batches, 4-10 in one sitting, so you're not burdened each week or several times per week, to create the same episode.

Podcasting is one of the most intimate ways that you are able to communicate with your prospects at all levels Sometimes, greater than writing the word. Be attentive to your viewers. Be empathetic and show 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 be appealing to those who have the potential to become power users on your membership site. Everyone else is irrelevant. Just like with your other efforts to market Casting a broad net will attract unqualified prospects that will clutter your email list, or, worse yet, get churned out very early. It is also important to stay in a narrow, deep area of expertise is essential to your success.

Do not fool yourself into believing that the volume of downloads is the only measure you should be tracking also. What questions should you be asking yourself in order to gauge whether your business is succeeding include: Are listeners taking notice of my CTA and getting into my funnel for marketing? New members are citing my podcast as the reason that they joined, or from where they first heard about my brand? Is the authority I'm building by my show helping to build relationships and credibility with influencers within my industry? Do I use my podcast to network with others by having relevant guests on my podcast?

Promoting your podcast on your existing email lists, members, via social media channels and influential people. Podcasts should be considered a key element of your content marketing strategy however, because it's so big an undertaking, it deserves an entire category in my top 21 list.

Podcasting your own show is a great way to market your business. Don't get started until you can fulfill the commitment to keep it going. Luckily, the next best option to running your podcast is to maintain an ongoing presence on podcasts of other hosts.

Be a podcast guest

The same principles of guest blogging could be used in this case quite seamlessly. Anyone who has decided to host podcasts themselves are confronted with the exact same responsibility as bloggers. Reaching out to the right hosts using the proper approach can result in a couple of great guest spots and reduce the burden of content creation for hosts.

If you have your own show and you are a guest on other podcasts will amplify the results you get by utilizing your podcast. In the end, those who listen to podcasts, are listening to...podcasts.

If you do have your own show or you don't, make sure to include the CTA when you have a guest spot. CTAs can be for downloading an offer for leads, to offer a promotion for the cost of your membership, or a brief review, or something else that's relevant to your site. If you have an own podcast, you should invite listeners of the podcast(s) where you are as a guest to join your own.

Begin by making a list of podcasts where you can offer value and information to the subscribers. It is likely that these are the podcasts of industry experts that have an audience similar to the target market. Guest podcasting can and should be a component of your natural influencer marketing strategy.

Don't make the mistake that you should reach out to the hosts that have 100,000 subscribers at first. Begin small, gain some knowledge and build a resume , and then start working your way up the ranks of influencers.

Your outreach email to a host must include a few appreciation to them, their qualifications for you (in a non-braggadocious way) and some examples of other podcasts that you've participated in and/or hyperlinks to your own blog posts and YouTube channel. Perhaps some topics you'd be great to discuss in an interview.

Do not quit when you get rejections. If you're rejected by a key influencer in your field the first, second, or even the third time, go to the organic influencer section here in order to establish their social network before trying to do it again.