
There are more than 750,000 active podcasts that are broadcast in the United States, and there were more than 30 million podcast episodes as of June 2019. That’s according to Podcast Insights, an online company that helps start, grow and monetize podcasts. The industry insider also reports (based on studies conducted by Nielsen and Edison) 70 percent of the U.S. population is familiar with the term “podcasting” – up from 64 percent in 2018; 51 percent of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast – up from 44 percent in 2018; and 32 percent listened to a podcast in the last month – up from 26 percent in 2018.
In anticipation of International Podcast Day, on Monday, Sept. 30, Alula Amare, a digital copy editor at local digital marketing and SEO agency Search Influence, shared his Top 10 list and explained why his recommended podcasts can help local professionals grow their interpersonal, leadership, management, organizational and presentation skills:
• Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman
Hosted by Reid Hoffman, one of the co-founders of LinkedIn, Masters of Scale investigates how companies grow from “zero to a gazillion” by speaking with legendary founders. The show’s star-studded guest lineup includes Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Netflix’ Reed Hastings and Spanx’ Sara Blakely as they discuss different ways companies can grow.
In Everyday Espionage, a former CIA intelligence officer, Andrew Bustamante, teaches real-world applications of some of the techniques covert agents use to analyze information, prioritize resources, deal with people in stressful situations and set and achieve goals. Whether in your professional or personal life, many of Andrew’s principles can be applied in a variety of situations.
The HBR IdeaCast is a weekly podcast featuring leading thinkers in business and management. Launched in 2008, the HBR IdeaCast has been nominated for two National Magazine awards and a Digiday award, while being listed as one of the best business podcasts by Fortune, FastCompany and Forbes, Inc.
Because life at work can be funny, challenging, ridiculous and even satisfying, hosts Liz Dolan and Rico Gagliano offer advice for managing your work/ life balance, setting boundaries for coworkers, pursuing a raise when you deserve one and even pretending to be sick.
• The Pete Godfrey Persuasion Show
Host Pete Godfrey delivers information that’s centered around strategies to help you influence the thoughts and actions of other people. Using techniques based on principles of psychology, he offers information for writing and designing advertisements as well as dealing with clients and coworkers.
At some point, everyone considers a change in their career. Whether you’re looking to work in a new role or a new industry, host Jenny Blake offers inspiration, practical advice and tips for pursuing a position that suits you.
The Influencer Podcast takes you behind the scenes with successful influencers, bloggers and industry elites. Julie Solomon invites her guests to share their ideas about social media trends, new and innovative ways to utilize different platforms and how the industry is changing.
After an injury prevented Lewis Howes from continuing to play professional football, he became a New York Times bestselling author and lifestyle entrepreneur—with a podcast aimed at sharing inspiring stories from brilliant business minds, world-class athletes and influential celebrities to help you find out what makes great people great.
On Accidental Creative, host Todd Henry discusses how everyone, despite their job title, has to come up with creative solutions every day. He presents different tools and tips that help people come up with better, more creative solutions.
Being Boss is hosted by Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon. They offer entrepreneurs and freelancers advice on how to establish the routines, habits and mindsets that help them make money doing the things they love.
If you’re passionate about podcasts, internationalpodcastday.com suggests doing the following:
- Use #InternationalPodcastDay to engage with others worldwide talking about the event
- Grab your mic and camera, ask someone about their favorite podcast and share their response on social media
- Join in numerous International Podcast Day events in your region and around the world
- Promote by posting the official International Podcast Day banner image on your website
- Play the International Podcast Day audio or video promo on your show
- Change your social media image to the International Podcast Day logo
- Explain to someone what a podcast is and get them hooked
- Share your favorite podcast with someone (coworker, friend, teammate)
- Send feedback to your favorite podcasters and tell them thank you
- Provide a rating and review in Apple Podcasts or other platforms
- Subscribe to a new show and talk about it using #InternationalPodcastDay
- Not a podcaster? Become one!
And to learn more about how to make money producing your own podcast, a recent article on podcast search engine Listen Notes (www.listennotes.com/podcast-academy/how-do-podcasts-make-money-in-2019-here-are-8-2) suggests to:
- Explore sponsorships
- Raise money via donations and crowdfunding
- Attract new consumers to buy your products or services
- Seek affiliate income
- Offer paid content opportunities
- Sell branded merchandise
- Sell tickets to live shows
- Lower expenses