17: Stewart Townsend helps guests automate getting booked on podcasts at PodcastHawk.com

paris_vega: Welcome to the first customers podcast today we have Stewart Townsan, C, M, O of Podcasthawk, a company advised by Pat Flynn and Jordan Harbinger, that helps guests automate getting booked on podcasts. Stewart, welcome to the show. stewart: Hey, I was gonna say morning afternoon and evening. Let's cover all the basis. Great. great to meet agambarrass. paris_vega: Where are you recording from? stewart: I'm in sunny like well, it's not sunny because it's it's early evening in Lancashire in England, So big city paris_vega: Okay? stewart: wise, hundred miles north of Manchester, paris_vega: All right, And at what time is it there? stewart: It is surrounded about quarter to ten, nine, forty five. So paris_vega: Awesome? Well, I appreciate your making time for us today. stewart: hey, no, it's a pleasure. paris_vega: All right. let's kick it off. Jump right in and talk to us about how Podcasthawk got their very first customers. stewart: It's quite an interesting story because it was quite a painful experience. In terms of you know what's like, you build a product and you go to market and you think is going to come, and it's tumble weed. So paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: essentially our first customers came through our networks, so myself and A, the co founders, and we literally went out to our networks and knew there was a challenge because we built it to solve our own pain point, and went out to were in the Dynamite Circle is like a private master mind group that we're in and we went out to our linked in network and we went out to a couple of community podcasting communities that we know, and then it started to really so Come through then so within the first sort of couple of months, we had fifty plus customers using the platform giving this feed back, and we continued that for a reasonable period of time. But those sort of first four weeks after launch was. Yeah, a little bit nerve wracking. You've built this product. you've tested it, Arial, ant it, and yea, it was quite a challenge. but yeah, the network connection was the main aspect for us first to get those customers. paris_vega: Okay, and in the Master Mind group, did you say that was involved stewart: It's paris_vega: with podcasting? stewart: a Yeah, so it's actually the tropical Nbapodcast Dana Andrew. They have a group called the paris_vega: Okay, stewart: Dynamite Circle, So it's a paid group. You meet up every year and they have juntas, so we know a lot of people in there that are either got businesses they want to promote as a guest and wanted to get on podcast and ve been talking about this pain of actually doing that. so we reached out to them first, So put your money. We, your mouth. As you, you said that you want this product and we're built it now. So come on paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: and they were. They were very local customers. really good customers. paris_vega: That's interesting. That's very similar to episode one of this podcast where Chase Bowers was in a master mind group and basically built a tool to solve his own problem. And then other people in the group said Hey, I'd pay for that if you made it a customer facing product and stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: it just took off from there. That stewart: and paris_vega: seems stewart: that was paris_vega: like a really really good method. stewart: Yeah. it was the same with our concept. We come. We wanted to go on podcast to promote our brands or our businesses or whatever were doing, and the same people in the Mastomin Group were saying that it's like how do we get new marketing channels? We'd like to do podcast, but we can dress this up a little bit, but we're too lazy to be ho. It's too much like hard paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: work because it's not simple, but being a guest paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: is a lot easier Because you can Up and then you can go away, paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: get all the content, but of course nobody wanted to build the product. paris_vega: Yep. stewart: They just so will keep on doin what we're doing. So it was to scratch our own ice, but also some of those people that were looking for new marketing channels as well, paris_vega: Okay, so give us a little uh view into how it works. You stewart: Yeah, so paris_vega: sign up stewart: simple. paris_vega: for your service and then stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: some. How stewart: simple, paris_vega: you get stewart: ah, paris_vega: guest request? stewart: si, simple sass product, in terms of what it takes away the pain of is literally spending a Sunday afternoon going on Google or going to a product. like listening to those other sort of products out there, and final podcast you want to be on and then actually finding out they've not broadcast or show for three years. I've just spent all this time building this list and sound really good, But they're not live, case or start again, paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: so our product allows you to search for two point five million podcasts. Find the ones that are actually live Now, find the ones that have relevant relevancy to you in terms of the audience, and then we provide you with their social handles and contact details to reach out to them. and then on top of that we've built an outreach feature so that rather than just send in blanket email, you can send and customer mails that customers, you can actually listen to the podca, So if you're interested, want to be on it and actually be vocal about it, and insert some details in there. and then those emails are automated. Literally, you can send them out and go, And if you get a reply, I stop. and if you don't get a reply after ctingutmemails, to stop as well. So that's the automation piece. It saves hours upon hours. Anybody th's ever done this as wanting to be a guest will know. it solves that paying point. paris_vega: So is email the only channel that is? stewart: Well then I lost, or for a second, though paris_vega: Okay, is email the only channel that's automated related to outreach? stewart: it is at the moment. Yeah, so we've got a feature on the road map for the ability to choose a channel you want to go through, so I may be. actually, you want to warm up and go through social channels. First, Twitter, linked in, et cetera that sort of thing, and then use emails as a back up aspect. because the host is more vocal on their social chat. Well suddenly are in their email, so we're building that functionality into the into the road map over this quarter. paris_vega: Okay, let's pause right here, because for some reason the video stopped and started multiple times there, so let me do. paris_vega: Okay, we had a few technical issues on my end, so let's just recap that question. You mentioned automating email outreach To get booked on podcast. Tell me about any other potential ways that you guys automate outreach stewart: Yeah, so we've got a feature on the road map that's coming through that we have the social handles we go in. Excuse me, gather that date and we manually check this data as well whether it's email or social handles. So I'm a feature which allows you as a guest to reach out initially and send a message by a social. whether it's Twitter all linked in or Facebook. A lot, who of a good Facebook page and go down that route before actually send an email. So it may be as part of a sort of an outreach. Actually Make Make the host aware that you exist, and put some messages out about some of the podcasts and what you've done before you. then start on email. So yeah, that that is definitely on the road map, and ironically enough, it's something that we have thought about and customer said would be really cool. It's like, Yeah, sounds great idea. Why didn't we think of it? paris_vega: Right. Talk more about how you got that customer feedback. stewart: Yeah, So when we were sort of launching the product and building a lot of the futur, Set out and getting the data already, I personally on boarded every customer. So fifty plus, you know any, any call from fifteen minutes to an hour, and we've got customers that write books in the middle of the forest in Canada, somewhere that are not very technically save. and those paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: that write programs. So it was. You know. It's a very varied audience in terms of what they were looking to do, but also from their skill set as well. When you're doing a search, some people didn't stand how to build a search term or what they were looking for from that, and that's what really came out of those fifteen minutes to an hour type sessions with customers walking them through understanding what they wanted to do what their pain point was, and then getting the feedback of things that we took for granted didn't make sense to them, but also features that we've not thought about before. Actually, yeah, just gold saving so much time in sort of some of the things We're built into the platform. You just I'd say to anybody that's looking at those first customers taught to those customers, taught them as much as possible, and just understand what they're doing and watch what they're doing as well, because that's the best thing ever from a U X aspect. paris_vega: So after the master Mind customers got on boarded. What was that bridge between those first few and getting up to those first fifty? What kind of taxes tactics did you guys use? stewart: So a lot of that was through referrals, So my background is from channel referals, resailers that sort of concept, so I pushed that quite heavily, so we built into the platform very quickly in affiliate system, So if you brought a new customer on board, you could get paid against that customer. So a lot of it came through word of math through Hey, I'm using podcast hall, So tween, I've got some shows, but also actually going on shows like this, talking to host, and then the host became customers. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: Not so much, you know, Actually was a promotion of the product on on the podcast Because paris_vega: Sure, stewart: that's the idea of it, but the host were saying, Well, I want to grow a show. I've seen the patfulineffect, and yeah, come on, so we get off the show and then we do a demo. So it was. It was a multitude of that and that's that's part of where we're growing at the When pastors first customers is on podcast and talking to hosts and agencies around that sort F side of things And not you know, we're not focusing down on sort of niches. As such. it's just really wide. We've got sass, founders book authors, podcast hosts, kicks people, ruling kick state campaigns is a multitude. paris_vega: Okay, because it doesn't really matter what type of podcast it is. You just have it set up to be a automated outreach system for just podcasts in general. stewart: Yeah, but again, so I love cars. I don't think I've got. I've got a lot O. I love cars. So I've been reaching out to go on podcast about cars, because I love cars, you know, but I'm using Podcasthawk to do that. Whereas, before trying to reach out to those shows and looking at hundreds of them and trying to work out for live, especially something like a car show that can be very The seasonal, or just go for so many shows. and then they realize it's so hard, but yeah, you know people, people have used our product not just for going on show, as you've used it also to research sales lead. so let's go and find paris_vega: Okay, stewart: somebody that's been on the show. Listen to what they said about what they've done. Reach out to the host to get some notes. found out that person. So they've used it from a sort of warming up a cold lead with some reference points or that, Like all, some people have used it to build consultency services. So yeah, it's been interesting. paris_vega: Yeah, Okay, yeah, I looked at the website a little bit and started to see that. Okay, I could see using this service. I was a little confused on how the pricing broke down, So it was like the lowest plan as forty nine a month, I think, stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: And what does that get you stewart: so it gets you access to the platform or the searches. Everything reste restriction is on every pricing plan Is how many contact details you can get, So to think of it as like a zoominfo. You can go and find everything you want, Look at millions of shows. But if you want to reach out to them, you get so many credits per month to get those contact details. So you know it starts. I think paris_vega: Okay? stewart: like twenty five credits up to a hundred credits, and then you can buy more credits, so that's what you're paying paying for access to the platform or the limitation is the number of whose details you can get. paris_vega: Okay And then is it the higher plans that allow automation? Like automated outreach? stewart: Yeah, so start doesn't have that in there And again, Because my fee back was. It was a little bit more complex to set up, because you have to authenticate against your email. You have to spend some more time building a temple and sort of thinking about it. Whereas the starter plan people would come into that and drop off because they start trying to use a campaign or where they didn't actually need it. So I've put that in the middle, a plan from that side, and it's not from a cost aspect. It's more just people are coming. We so turn because of the Barrier being there of that sort of thing where somebody is paying fifty forty nine dollars a month, just wants to reach out to some shows. They don't need to ultimate that they're not going to do a high value, And it's more about can research them and get the details. I can test out a little bit, and then when I'm ready I'll move to this full automation because I realize the time it's going to save me. paris_vega: How many shows can you reach out to for the forty nine? Am I stewart: So that's twenty five. crelitsthat's. twenty five show contact details. We get a show and that's all the social details or email, et cetera. It's all the paris_vega: Okay? stewart: sort of context details on there. And paris_vega: So and the value you're saying is these are shows that have been vented, So it's kind of a curated list of quality contexts stewart: so paris_vega: that are actually actively producing shows. stewart: yeah, so what we've done is we've collected all the day to the last eighteen months from various sources, but then we have Humans like me and other people going through and verifying that, so as a user does a search and puts it into our campaign aspect, We know that that's something that's interesting and saying, But it's a search or campaign and it goes into a back end feature where before that sent out, we verify it and have a human check. Is this right? Is it wrong? Is it validated? So cleansing our data based on customer requirement. There's no point in cleansing data of Shows that have not broadcast for three years, unless you can use that for a different model, so we're always looking at the latest latest and greatest, paris_vega: Okay, and do you have any kind of numbers on the like book rate? Like how often like twenty five lead just sounds? I do. It sounds kind of like a risky thing because it's like, Is that enough based on how many bookings actually happen from just contact and twenty five shows? stewart: So twenty five is not probably a number to basic against. But if you look at a hundred shows or a paris_vega: Hm, stewart: hundred contacts on average, between me and Ray, when we, when we're doing this, we're getting on twenty or thirty shows out of a hundred out reaches. But that's paris_vega: Okay, stewart: very. That's highly tytntythe percent, but again it's been. We're highly target in the shows we want to be on and spending time to do that and go well. Actually, the tool out as the customization aspect of it. and the research is not just. I've got twenty five people's names are going to send this single email that says we have seen Hi. I'd like to be on paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: the show. It's like well, well, great, tell me something about you and that, So so we get high percentage rate, But that's not to say that is going to get some people get more, because I've got a really good story. E can paris_vega: Hm, stewart: sort of put that into a clear message really well, and like you know, Paris, the more shows you've been on, the more chance you've got getting booked as a guest or as a host because you're known. Whereas those starting out we tell people don't go for Joe Rogan, You don't go up there. Start paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: on smaller shows like you know. that's paris_vega: The people stewart: said. paris_vega: go stewart: Unless paris_vega: for to Weldon. stewart: by in, paris_vega: Do people go for Joe Rogan stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: using stewart: they paris_vega: Podcasthop, stewart: do. Yeah, they do paris_vega: Anybody gotten booked yet? stewart: now, and to be fair, you know they'll reach out to Jordan and Patflitin as well, and we see the sort of data. paris_vega: Yep, stewart: But but again, I don't know the context of those people. We can't see that, but you know paris_vega: Right, stewart: they do reach out. But what we say to those that come into this new is you may have. The great story may be the Co of Vodifotnsuch, but you're unknown, so you need a start in the place that fits where you are in your profile. I think you know. if you the covotophone, you're not going to go. You've got gonna go going to show that's relevant as well, paris_vega: Right. stewart: So there's some tactics around it and we help articulate that and so guide people through that process as well. But it's yeah. it's a good percentage rate from for aturalbookings. paris_vega: Okay. can you speak to some of those tactics that you guide people on? stewart: Yeah, so well, there's a couple of books and lots of content, but essentially it's about that whole search capability. It's about numbing it down in terms of what shows you want to be on why you want to be on. But what value you bring? So if you're looking to use podcastes away, sort, getting some awareness out there or getting your first customers as well from that, and sort of going out there, then Get those shows that have more than fifteen episodes, but less than fifty. The broadcasting every eye, a new show coming out regular every couple of weeks. or so. They've got corn going on there and go and look at their social profile and their web metrics, So this is data that we are bringing into the platform as well, So it's about showing. Actually, you may want to go in a show that the host has just started fifteen episodes in the building momentum around that, but you may. Actually, I'd like to be on some show. You know somebody shows. it's done fifty episodes. That person that host that's got fifteen shows already may have a really great social profile, a very highly targeted audience with a high domain authority battling the consent that is of more value to you, But they're just not a known person in the podcasting hosting sector yet, So it's about, Don't just look at the Joe Rogan Five thousand reviews, et cetera, et cetera look at what you Goals are, and then use at all to identify the shows you want to be on That will give you the most reach and we. We talk paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: about podcasting as a guest from leave, generation and marketing aspect. It's about going, sharing your knowledge and truth and of what you know, But do that in a way that you can get some with with the host. That's going to give you good value as well, So you can share both your social network. You can share both of each. You can bring different audiences in there and get some Traffic back to you and a really high domain authority linked back to as well. That's that's the crooks of it. That's what paris_vega: At stewart: we paris_vega: that. stewart: talk about. paris_vega: Yeah, that's good. So considering stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: their audience and their network outside of just the current state of their podcast because there might be a whole stewart: yeah, paris_vega: lot more like the tip of the iceberg. You know stewart: yeah, I was talking to an agency a couple of weeks ago and again what we helped identifies like trending podcasts coming through And there was one that was identified that had some chefs on there that we know, well known the chefinsector in food industry, but not in podcasting. we spotted it, and literally we got Some people on there and it did really well because once once you gain traction and people like ohxwyeds on there was like I've got to listen to that and the audience grew quickly, But you were on episode six with that traffic then coming through and you got evergreen content coming back to you. Great, You don't get that with a lot of other sort of marketing type sectors. So it's those sort of things. Don't just look at where that person is now, and how many shows and how many reviews you've got. There's more to it than that. Look at the. look at it as part of your marketing funnel. paris_vega: That's good. So you've talked about your first customers and a couple different types of customers. Um that you go after that? you've had. What would you say is your best customer? Your ideal kind of customer profile for this service for podcast. stewart: As of, Yeah, as of everybody, but as of about two weeks time paris_vega: Yah, stewart: is podcast booking agencies, because paris_vega: Okay, stewart: they allow us to go to more users Quicker and faster through that side If we're looking at sort of b to see business of consumer, The perfect perfect podcastcast is somebody that's already got a really great story and typically sits in somewhere like a bulbokauthor or Sass, founder or a master mind, because they come and use the platform, but they know everybody else in that sect as well. They know all the other people to go and tell em. They can always promote it in the great vocal voices for us. Literally, As you know, That's how we expanded, so that individual coming in normally will get individual coming in. They'll bring another five customers to us, because he paris_vega: M. stewart: told, told the friends down the pub, But by promoting what they did, pycimastmyn about podcast this week, how do you do that Because I'm using my own software, paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: So you know there, the customers that can bring us more customers. Because of the networks they sit in the best because it just means it's less For us to do from a marketing aspect and the cost of acquisition is lower as well. Obviously, paris_vega: That's good. It seems wise to consider for any type of business and it seems like that's why a lot of sass companies kind of involved towards having some kind of agency pricing or some kind of ter like that, where you want to make it easier for people to bring on even more customers or refer programs, and that kind of thing stewart: Yeah, it's ingrained of me. Ave been working in a channel for thirty or twenty years, not not making myself older. You. paris_vega: A. stewart: I've worked in a channel for like twenty years, so it's like just I can't get away From that way you're thinking. paris_vega: Now, when you say work in the channel, what do you mean? stewart: So my background is, I've worked in corporate and start up help building them reach to market through indirect sales, So in normal terms, that means through re sellers, distributors referral part, that sort of thing, so third paris_vega: Okay? stewart: parties third parties selling your product and making money from it. paris_vega: Okay, so affiliate marketing and related things there? Okay, I've never heard stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: it referred to. I guess you were just saying this channel, this type of this little nitch in the industry. Unless stewart: yeah, paris_vega: there's stewart: I think, paris_vega: a stewart: think of how microsophsell so microsofselves, ninteight percent of their products through channel partners resale. You don't really sort of engage with microsoph. You'll engage with soft care or somebody else, and a lot of times you won't to see that, but you'd be buying those products through that and saying, with you know, a lot of other Sass companies do that as well. It gives geographic reach. It gives localization, gives boots on the ground, but it reduces cost of acquisition as well. S literally, like I was just saying about podcast talk, I get one customer Ring me five. That's the same with a reseller, I'll be managing a resellerand, they'll have ten sales people, so suddenly I've got ten sales people on my sales team, but I'm not paying ten sales people. That's a sort of channel type model. paris_vega: Okay, All right, let's back up a little bit. zoom out and talk about what you did before podcastalkpersonally. Where do you grow up? stewart: Yeah, so I mean from sunny Manchester in England, bit paris_vega: Okay? stewart: of a bit of a whirl wind journey to get into it. but literally I became a mature. I don't know what the term is in the U. S. but I mature student went to university like twenty, so I could get a job in it. so I didn't start in it until I as thirty, And it worked for a company called Some Micro systems, which, depending how old you are, you may know or you may not, paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: Oracle acquired them and said Oracle for about a year, And that was then decided. I've been running and so built out this accelerator start program inside Sun, and doing some investments and setting up a cloud service, and at the other decided to go, actually, go and work for a start up. Yeah, that was painful that that paris_vega: Uh, stewart: was like. paris_vega: uh, stewart: Wow, I thought I knew hard work. Yeah, this was hard work was twenty person company called Data Sift, and I was like the only. I was the only person there that wasn't a developer. Let's put it that way, so I learn again. You know that was again. How do you bring customers on board with a boot strap? We were serious, but were still got boot straps. In a sense, reselling Twitters fire Hose with one of three global licenses. But there was no sales team. We were building that out, building marketing fun And getting things going and again. Similar lesson. It's like we thought could we could sell the products in a certain way, and then the market dean that actually know it's not going to fly, which paris_vega: So stewart: was paris_vega: wait, stewart: got. paris_vega: you said you said something that I didn't understand. You said you were reselling Twitters fire hose stewart: Yeah, So a long time ago Twitter was really good for developing on, but also they paris_vega: Right, stewart: came to an agreement to sell. So basically all of Twitters data is called the fire holes, So if you access paris_vega: Gotch, stewart: through an a P, you get one percent, we would be having access to a hundred per cent. and then we could resell. We could never resell a hundred percent of it. Any one customer could only take ten per cent. paris_vega: M. stewart: There was as Gnipandfigits Japan, there were three global licences for that service. Yeah, paris_vega: What do they do with it? stewart: what? in terms of what we did to Use it set customers or paris_vega: Yeah, like what would the customers buy it for? Were they just stewart: So. paris_vega: developing like Apse That use Twitter data? What? I stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: mean? stewart: like stock twits, when the first financial customers tak taking that, let's say, government governmental bodies under the guise of universities in America, like to access that data. There paris_vega: Really? stewart: was that new case. Oh yeah, there's lots of conversations, paris_vega: Okay, stewart: marketing organizations again doing social handle monitoring. From that side. We were doing political analytics at the time as well before It all sort of blew up. Did so essentially was like simple modeling, but we had to see S plus plus real time ort o dat analytic to sit in front of it. That was just awesome and you could pull Dat of and then we'd also do married up data, so we get demographic data and four square location data. That sort of thing, and sort of mappit together, so you could build different profiles and pictures. It was a paris_vega: Good stewart: marketing paris_vega: old Four stewart: dream. paris_vega: square, stewart: I know. Yeah, I had to think of his name was like, I'm sure. Oh yeah. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: yeah. paris_vega: that was. stewart: it was a marketing dream at the time. paris_vega: Uh. Yeah, there was definitely that golden era with all these stewart: Oh paris_vega: different stewart: yeah, paris_vega: services and yeah, all the privacy or whatever the concerns we've had over the past stewart: yeah, paris_vega: few years, the multiple layers and layers that's been added to different platforms to make marketing stewart: Ah, paris_vega: much more difficult on the targeting end of things. stewart: Yeah, definitely definitely was, And then at the last real job I had was left to go and work for a cony called Zen desk, pre pre Po, About two paris_vega: Oh, stewart: hundred paris_vega: wow, stewart: and fifty people there and I stayed for about four years, went through the I P. O. when we were about fifteen hundred people, so I built a ten million dollar business unit in there around Channel, and then left And that's what I decided. I want to do a start. I want to do my own thing, because I've been in these companies and it's really great and now it's hard work what a gonta do. And it took a couple of years to actually develop that into Podcasthawk and found a co founder to work with, Because I knew that I couldn't do it on my own. paris_vega: M. stewart: I just procrastinate too much. So you, a couple paris_vega: Hm. stewart: o years of doing consulting and sort of revisiting the network and I'm wanting to do something I really enjoyed and was passionate about and get into And this was because there's a mixuralsort of data layer in the marketing mix, sales, lead generation, whole sort of stuff that. I think it's really cool and it meant also, I could go and reach out and speak to people about cars and stuff and getinpodcast about casliyeahboom. paris_vega: Yeah, Well, self serving. Okay, All right, let me cruise down here in my list, making sure I'm covering all the things. What do you think? the the most effective tactics once you got to podcast talk and launching it, Um, Well, what's your total customers Now First? if that's not too private, stewart: Yeah, so we're just over a hundred customers were paris_vega: Okay, stewart: growing day on day weekly, So we've got that traction. Now it was. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: it was ourselves Are limited to customers because the platform wasn't it, wasn't it? As never, A hundred percent Wasn't a hundred paris_vega: Sure, stewart: percent that we were happy to release it fully to the wild. paris_vega: And it is monthly right, like it's forty nine dollars. Or is it just one off payment every time you want stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: to get more contact? stewart: it's monthly recurring. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: It's a thirty day contract. Had customers have been on the beater and sort of stayed with us for eighteen months or so paris_vega: Okay, stewart: around. Yeah, customers come in for either short burst or long periods of time. Want those that get it, Just get it and just don't. even. they just paris_vega: Right, stewart: leave the platform in automation. Don't have to do anything. paris_vega: That makes sense. Um, what do you tink as caused the biggest spikes in growth since you've launched. stewart: I think that the biggest spikes have come. when we've done podcast. we've done a blaze paris_vega: Okay. stewart: of podcasts. Because paris_vega: How stewart: again paris_vega: many? stewart: at your own dog food, so raided just over fifty last year In the last six months of last year. I'm up to ten at the moment this year and I've got a target this year. I've been on two hundred raise. I got a been another hundred and again, not just about marketing and search paris_vega: Yeah? Yeah, stewart: about stuff that we like, Because paris_vega: Sure. stewart: I would love to do a carshowpodcast but Paris, I am very lazy. I could not do what you do. preparation or that sort of it is hard work. You know paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: it is hard work, paris_vega: I'm not sure if I can do it yet. I'm just experiment. stewart: but it's worth while because it helps you build a wider net where you need. You know a load of people that can help build that We're with you. But yeah, the biggest spikes have come from when we've done podcasts. Ou know it was a campaign. We've got an reached out and multiple podcast, and it gives you attraction around that side. Ray's been on Patflain, Been on paris_vega: Okay. stewart: John Lee, As so, We've got some good spikes from that and we do you know we have on going activities with other partners as well, So I've got an event in Manchester that hosting with a couple of under people in three Once time speaking at a podcast event in London. So we've always got multiple marketing streams going on paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: segment across customers, And then the biggest thing at the moment, You're just producing some content to do. sales league generation Through podcast is the best way of describing paris_vega: Right. stewart: for that, so we can actually reach out and help customers get there. get their first customers. Think of it as a good channel. Move really quickly on. Don't have to paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: wait for us. Don't have to wait for blog posts to go alive or whatever it is. Um, you can leverage and use other people's harder networks. Give value back to the their audience. paris_vega: Exactly you mentioned events. How often do you guys do events as part of your marketing strategy? stewart: So we're gonna do to this year. It wasn't part of the strategy. Yeah, man, so sam, Seth, s on Podland News with James. We've done some crazy things, so when the Facebook film came out Multiple years ago, I can't remember the name of it now, but we hired a Sendimin London on a whim and sold three hundred tickets for people to go, so we paris_vega: The stewart: had paris_vega: social stewart: a conversation. paris_vega: network that stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: movie? stewart: Social network. paris_vega: Okay, stewart: that was. Yeah, So we, we sold the red tickets, which, Yeah, stressful Tam. It's very expensive to hire a sin in London. We were banking that we're going to sell it, so we had conversation a couple of weeks ago when we'll do it. So for for those that In sunny England, a lot of activities happening around London, but the podcasting industry in the U. S. in Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool leads are in northern cities, so we're putting an event on in June time, so got some key speakers flying in from the U. S. for that and then we're gonna do another one outside London in September, So so that's two events this year. In terms of speaking events, Rays going to do a couple in the U. S. I'm doing these two plus another one in the U. K. but actually I'm we're raising to concentrate more on the sort of podcastang events because it biggest activity of that, S. but from a customer and getting customers and pushing the model out. I'm going to speak at marketing events because I'm to leave generation marketing funnels and how to get customers, so there'll be more activities from from that side. I'm hoping to get to at least two or three of those. obviously not the keynote speaker, but just Workshop or something to get that message out there. so it's a big part of. I wouldn't say normally and assess it would be a big part of the funnel, but with us we're in an educational market. We have to go and educate the market for something that's needed, so we need to get out there and go face to face, which we can do now. paris_vega: Yeah, definitely, So are you speaking on that specific topic of likepodcasts as sales lead Lead generation channel? stewart: Yeah, yeah, so paris_vega: Okay, stewart: again, we say were experimented with customers last year from on board and features. It was also about the message in as well, so podcastguesting doesn't exist as a search term, or being a guest on a podcast does, but more of like how, what do I do? How do I do it? paris_vega: How to it? stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: Yea stewart: it's that sort of thing where it's actually what paris_vega: information? stewart: Talking about is how do you get customers? How do you et your first customers? How do you generate that? So I'm talking about now is leave generation marketing funnels, putting in the mix all those sort of search term key words on that niceness. But what are the paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: benefits around that? So that's what the couple of books that have written around that and I've got another one that's halfway through sales. Play Book of Le Generation As a podcastguest To do that well, That means what the benefits are. paris_vega: Okay, stewart: Also what you should do is a guest as well. You know. if you want to get the benefit from the someone's show, you've got t be respectful of their network and actually get off your ass and do something. You can't just go to the show When think? Oh, that's great. Now they're gonna do all the work is like. Now you have to go out to your network and promote it And you know it's about giving and receiving. Find some more paris_vega: Hm, stewart: guests for them as well. you know. Do some of that leg work as it's hard? Yeah, paris_vega: The stewart: so it's about it's those you know what's he benefits. and it's a classic different use case. So if you're running a kick starter, think of it as a book author. go and go and promote that through podcast before it actually ends. If you're an enterprise sales guy, go and research your customers and see if they've been on podcast, and then reach out. Understand what they said on there and listen to it. So it's all these little activities you can do to bring it into a sales development type role, or an enterprise sales, or whatever it may be to. to leverage the power of podcast. They're not going to war, Either, They've been been around for ages and people don't get the paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: sort of context and what you can learn from it. paris_vega: Yeah, and I can speak to that a little bit just from doing this show and seeing the patterns of what people talk about. He. They're talking about getting their first customers, and kind of the meta trend that I'm seeing is Uh, seems like the best sales people are the best founders or the people who grow the most or the fastest, spend time connecting with their target audience before launching the business, or kind of in tandem with launching their business to where, stewart: Yeah, Yeah, paris_vega: Start getting that customer feedback before they even have any customers, stewart: yeah, paris_vega: Because they're so connected to that network within their target audience, and they've defined that beforehand, and that when they have a business, and they kind of test that idea or just ask for feedback on the idea of their business. You know, they're already kind of going through those early phases of owning their product to their service, And this seems like a an extension of that Where you could start being a guest in things related to the nit. You're wanting to build a company in, Even, or stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: if you've already got to start up, you can start connecting with your target customers. Audience are figuring out what your target customers listen to. I think there's a tool called Spark Tour stewart: oh, yeah, paris_vega: by stewart: randall. paris_vega: the guy who ran, n, I think stewart: yeah, paris_vega: used to be the founder of Mas. stewart: yeah, yeah, paris_vega: Yeah, I stewart: really, paris_vega: think it does something like that. It shows you your your target audiences in stewart: yeah, paris_vega: Answers or something like stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: that, So you stewart: the paris_vega: could. stewart: target audience and influences in sort, and a segment of podcast and things like that, and it gives that data that metrics on it and again you write. so now some of our message into Tess Founders is you build in the company out, but you need to build you out as a brand because you're the founder or the co founder. whatever it may be, you can take that message out, but the beauty is that, With podcast, it's a highly target audience. Somebody isn't going to come and listen to your show that likes fly fishing. They may like life fishing, but paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: they're not going to listen to learn about life fishing. Do you know if you're trying to sell like, so, say Zendeskas at Zendeskand, You want to sell a customer service message about customer service platforms Would go on those podcastthat focused around that core area or the sub set of it. Because you know that the audience. I want to learn and listen about customer service customer success. How to do it, et cetera So it gives you a very. You know, it's highly It is, so you also know not just the audience but the network of that person that host Because they're interest in it as well. There's no other medium that gives you that targeted approach really quickly. On that outreach really quickly that you can research and go after you know you don't have to do An you don't have to wait for content to warm up or Google to index. It's like out there I've got every green content you can take. Sound Bites can push it out. I can leverage that really quickly. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: I can go back to in six Mont. I can do it again. I can re purpose that content again. If something happens, I can paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: take a sound back out and drop it into a P. R. statement. Boom, I said that six months ago on a podcast. You're talking about it now. paris_vega: Yeah, I really do think I, podcasting is like a cheat code for business, especially stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: sales league, and that kind of thing building your network. Um. Because the other angle of getting booked on podcast is you're building that personal connection, Um, at least somewhat with the person who runs that podcast or stewart: yeah, paris_vega: you know, like, in my case, being the host of this one, I get to meet all these different people that I have on the podcast. Some of them I've known before, Some ve never met Like I've stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: never met you before, and now we're having this conversation, so I have a someone else who's you know, more connected in my network That didn't know you from anybody before you know stewart: exactly. And that's the thing paris_vega: being, stewart: Now paris_vega: I guess stewart: we're best friends and paris_vega: was stewart: we, paris_vega: a polly work. stewart: Yeah, through Pollywook best friends. Now that's paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: it, but it is. it's paris_vega: right, stewart: that. paris_vega: I mean you guys. If you over. If you, if you'll cover travel, I'll come to that event and stewart: As long as it's not first class, you're okay, but it is. it's paris_vega: Okay, stewart: that network into. It's that thing of you've got paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: you know, talking to a, trying to explain it to a friend of mine the other day, and so is a quick way of doing that, seven and five degrees, seven degrees of separation, six degrees of separation. Whatever the number is of, I want to, I want to reach Patflinokay. How do Yo want to do that? Well, I go through this, paris_vega: Hm, stewart: this and this, and it just gives you that capability really quickly because We'll connect on linked in, weave our network hair, and will share out the message in and such, and guess, blogging. posting all those sort of mediums doesn't doesn't give you that, and also it doesn't give you the trust piece of content that you row, paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: and you published on somebody's side. paris_vega: the same. stewart: T. they can't hear your voice. They can't hear the ant, hear the passion of what you're talking about. Flat word, and paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: it probably is we're going to get. We're going to get the word in. It is probably been written by chat. g, P. T. anyway. Oh, paris_vega: The bus words in there. stewart: We get the bus whirling, paris_vega: uh, stewart: yah, paris_vega: yeah, definitely, it seems like blogging and it's going to get overrun, or already is stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: overrun now by a I. content. So yeah, it seems like guests, blogging and all that. I guess there still may be some technical benefits if you're getting links and stewart: yeah, paris_vega: traffic stewart: it's paris_vega: and stewart: one paris_vega: that stewart: of those paris_vega: kind of thing. stewart: you can do it in parallel, can't you? You can have multiple strategies with any paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: sales funnel and marketing fun. All its multiple strategies and some long term, some a short time. It's not going to go away. Most definitely paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: Those of like, If you want to get warmed up quickly, got on ten podcasts something. You've got ten reference points There. of what you said, Enpetenlinks ten potential audiences. Like when I talk about channel, I view it as he acts like. So now this episode would get released, but you'll broadcast into your network and our broadcast it to mine. and we've got the network effects. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: It's like I've got hundreds of calls. People working for me now. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: Oh paris_vega: that's it. Okay. So I think we've covered a lot of different strategies and tactics that people stewart: h. paris_vega: can take away stewart: Oh. paris_vega: and using their own businesses, and obviously I guess the main one is. Hey, try stewart: Oh, paris_vega: out podcasthalk. I think I might have to sign up after this pretty much convinced me that you know nothing to lose decent price point. Uh, and yeah, at least try it for a month and see if I get any Kings from it and just go stewart: Let's paris_vega: from stewart: say paris_vega: there, but stewart: yeah. Just use it as a tool to try get some bookings as a host of reference what you do and promote it out again. It is called a patflneff, because it's jonglydusat christen that about ten years ago, because that's how he paris_vega: Oh stewart: built paris_vega: wow, stewart: Entrepreneur on fire, Getting on the show of day by going paris_vega: Really. stewart: by going on other peoples shows. When Pat Flim wasn't big paris_vega: Oh stewart: as he is now and John wasn't either, paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: it's been christened, so we just use that term paris_vega: M. stewart: because it's you. You've already got a reference. Othyou're a host. You've already got show. you've already got material. the host knows you're turned up. paris_vega: Yeah, stewart: you'll be at Be articular. You can you know, talk a story walk through. provide insight to the audience and that, sort of So it's like a pre qualify. paris_vega: Yeah, as long as I can figure how to get my mike to work properly, we should be good. stewart: You can have to paris_vega: It looks stewart: take paris_vega: like stewart: the paris_vega: it stewart: cables paris_vega: turned off. stewart: down. paris_vega: I know stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: it. I'm gonna hae o get some tape or something. stewart: yeah, paris_vega: Um, well, I think we use up the time that we booked here, so I'm gon to respect your time, and I appreciate you taking time to record at night and go through all of this with everybody. And um, do you want to make one last pitch to, let's say your ideal target customer. Bunch of podcasts. King agencies are listening in. What would stewart: Yeah, paris_vega: you tell them the pitches? stewart: yeah, so basically you're an agency. We can save lots of time and lots of money in terms of search in altimaking those podcasts and we have an agency dashboard so you can have multiple customers under the same lodging account and essential. I think the take away message is if you're looking to get customers and you're a founder of book. Whatever you are, start to think of podcasting has been Le generation. to don't dismiss it, So look at it. Podcasthalk can definitely help with that and we can provide materials. but just start to look at it as a way of generating leads into you to your funnel that you can do really quickly and say that that would be a key plug. Don't don't dismiss it as let's make podcasting bigger. paris_vega: Yep, business cheat code, stewart: Yeah, I like paris_vega: thanks again, Stuart. stewart: tag line. Hey, no problem. it's been paris_vega: Oh stewart: a pleasure. It's been good. Donyeahi'm. glad I'm glad we've got the mike sorted. It's a whole paris_vega: Yes, stewart: lot better paris_vega: sir. stewart: with with that, she.