Podcasting Revisited For 2017
Podcasting is a topic that I think is worth revisiting. So, this is an update to a classic Gym Insight blog post, with more good stuff for gym owners.
Through podcasts, you can discover insights for gym owners, stay current with issues in fitness, business management, and any other topics that might help you keep up with ideas and opportunities. Producing a podcast is hard to do but don’t ignore a fantastic opportunity for fitness professionals if you have something to say, just because of a little hard work.
Listening: A List Of Noteworthy Podcasts In Fitness And Others
Here is a quick list of worthy (in my opinion) podcasts, some are fitness-related, and others that are more general interest:
The Six Figure Gym – This industry-centered podcast features Interviews with founders and experts who share their insights and experiences in the fitness profession.
The Fitness Business Podcast – This Australian production features fitness industry thought leaders from around the English-speaking world. There’s something about an Aussie voice discussing the industry that sounds so enthusiastic and cool. More importantly, the podcast is very professional and brings in some influential voices in the industry.
Fitness + Technology – The podcast of the Fitness Industry Technology Council, as you might guess the episodes discusses how technology is changing fitness.
This Week In Startups – Successful entrepreneur and investor Jason Calacanis interviews startup founders and venture capitalists, mostly in Silicon Valley, but the lessons apply to any enterprise.
The Twit Network – Leo LaPorte, the tech guy who hosted Tech TV shows such as Screen Savers and Call for help has recreated the old cable channel as a video and audio content network. Twit.tv hosts a broad range of tech and entrepreneur podcasts.
Talk Is Jericho – This WWE veteran wrestler, known for his flair and catchphrases ("I’m from Winnipeg, you idiot!") has turned out to be a man of many talents. Chris Jericho has twice-weekly guests that include rock stars, actors, and wrestling business insiders, among others, who share their stories and insights.
Spartan Up! Podcast – Joe Desena, the founder of the Spartan Race and his team interview interesting people about their struggles that led to their ultimate successes. What gym owner doesn’t want to know about that?
Podcasting: Producing A Fitness Podcast
Podcasts are all about subscriptions. You can use iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS to get the latest episodes. If you intend to succeed as a podcaster, be prepared to produce episodes at least once a week when you upload them your subscribers will get them automatically.
The point of a podcast is to build an audience who share your interest and who might become customers of your business. Some of the things you might do with it include interviewing your network of contacts to tell their stories and promote their businesses. The one resource you will have to find is the time to record, edit and upload your episodes, you probably have everything else required already.
For a very reasonable investment, you can produce a talk show that can help you establish yourself as an influencer in the global fitness industry, or at least in your local community. Record a conversation in person or across the Internet via FaceTime or Skype. There is a free audio recording application called Audacity that is good enough for spoken-word recordings and editing.
There just might be an opening if you find there is a topic that is your passion and yet no one has claimed as yet. That is a real possibility because there are so many issues that you can cover; they are just waiting for someone with the knowledge and the enthusiasm to produce an episode on a regular basis, someone like you.
Alternatively, you can use it to teach a subject and discuss skills related to your professional practice. Find the combination of purposes that suits your style and goals. Your first few posts will be rough, but that’s OK; you will develop a style and format that works over time.
Double Your Workload And Multiply Your Content Many Times
If you are ambitious or confident in your digital skills, create video podcasts, and reuse the content on multiple channels. Videos take more effort to produce; they require more editing and take longer to upload to your hosting platform.
On the plus side, you can edit long videos down into short clips and repost them as additional content, because shorter videos are often more popular. The soundtrack to the video becomes your audio podcast.
If you transcribe each episode and post them on your blog in writing, they can reach even more people and also improve your standing with search engines. With a little bit of hacking, you can capture the closed caption transcription that YouTube generates automatically and repurpose it as text content to use on your blog and in social media.
The Audacity Of Podcasting – A Talk Show In A Nutshell
Podcasts are excellent sources of information that you can absorb while you drive, workout, and any other activity that’s not mentally demanding. To develop your business skills, you should always seek to expand your knowledge and take advantage of useful insights.
You have a golden opportunity to produce a channel of content that shares your knowledge and experience. With hard work, you can build an audience that will become a source of business and respect in the worldwide fitness community. After all, if you’ve started and built any kind of fitness club, a couple of hours a week to talk to people and then edit the recording isn’t such a big challenge, right?
Bibliography
Fagan, Lawrence. Podcasts For Gym Owners And By Them Too. July 1, 2015. https://blog.gyminsight.com/3395-podcasts-for-gym-owners-and-by-them-too/ (accessed July 31, 2015).
Linse, Jason. Marketing: Video, Blog, Podcast and Repeat. May 4, 2016. https://clubsolutionsmagazine.com/2016/05/social-media-marketing-video-blog-podcast-and-repeat/ (accessed June 17, 2017).