In case you missed it, WriterSanctuary is now officially in the podcast business. Well, at least in the sense that it’s no longer isolated to YouTube. You can now find the show on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and Amazon. And there might be more in the future.
I’ve been thinking about putting the show out for a larger market on other platforms for the past couple of years. This is the first time that I was able to spend a chunk of the day working on setting up the accounts.
Luckily, Spotify acts as a podcast host. That means I can share the show directly from Spotify on a variety of podcast apps. The fun part is trying to figure out which ones are the best.
I started with the most popular according to Backlinko, but that doesn’t mean that the show will become a success. It just means more people tune into those apps.
Setting Up the Podcast for WriterSanctuary
Contrary to the belief of some, creating a podcast doesn’t necessarily mean people will actually listen to it. Creating shows is similar to uploading videos onto YouTube: it depends on whether you create something someone wants to consume.
As with publishing a book, no one is going to listen to the podcast if they don’t know it exists. And the two most important pieces of that puzzle are engaging topics and marketing.
So, what am I doing to help improve the chances that the podcast for WriterSanctuary will be a success?
Creating the Topic Spreadsheet
First, I’m going to need some topics to cover on the show outside of the author interviews. I’ve been saying this for the last couple of years, and I just haven’t seemed to be bothered with creating a list. Well, that changes this week.
Sometimes, the shows can still be fun despite veering off topic, like trying to avoid a toddler on the freeway. But the more serious writers might be put off from the show if we sit there and talk about underwear for 30 minutes.
One of the reasons why I’m using a spreadsheet is to keep track of the numbers. What topics do better than others? Do any of the live streams perform well after recording? How long do people watch the show? Then, I want to compare the data with Spotify listeners.
This kind of information can help structure future topics while giving me insights into what my audience wants to watch. It may also contribute to how the podcast for WriterSanctuary moves forward.
Constant Sharing of the Author Signup Form
One of the biggest reasons why I’ve conducted so many author interviews is that I share the signup form consistently on social media. In fact, I would say that about 90% of the authors came from Threads.
Then, I gained a couple of interviews from the author events that I’ve attended. I met a few in person and explained how I publish live interviews during my Monday night show and told them how to contact me.
The point here is to share the author signup form as often as possible. I can’t rely on Google to send traffic to the signup page, especially since the average position for low-traffic queries is around 49th.
In any event, I’ll keep pushing the signup form about once or twice per week on various social channels. It seems to be working relatively well for what it is.
Consistent Schedules
The Monday night live stream is essentially the only video format in which I can maintain a level of consistency. I’m working on stabilizing the channel for video content, but the live streams are always on Monday nights at 7:00 pm (MTN).
The fun part is keeping it regular on Spotify, which then distributes the audio to other podcast platforms for WriterSanctuary. Since I can’t edit the live stream from YouTube until Tuesday evening (because it’s processing the show), I’ll need to have a set day for the podcast on other systems.
I am thinking I could maintain a Wednesday evening schedule. It doesn’t take long to edit, download, and then upload an episode to Spotify, especially with fiber optic Internet.
So, I’ll schedule an hour in the mornings on Wednesday to get the show up that evening. Maybe I’ll see what I can do to get them a week ahead of schedule so that I’m not missing a show should something sidetrack me on a Wednesday morning.
At the end of the day, consistency is one of the most focused topics for success on any platform. From blogging to YouTube videos, maintaining a routine publishing schedule is ideal for humans and algorithms alike.
Need to Figure Out Marketing
The fun part is figuring out the best ways to market an actual podcast, especially in a market that is saturated with similar content. Of course, that’s true regardless of the content you choose to create. There are millions of blogs, channels, and podcasts on the Internet to choose from.
Most of the successful podcasters out there started by already having an established career or some kind of following. They often bring their audience over from whatever platform they were on and continue to grow from there.
That means they are already pulling in some massive numbers compared to someone who is starting from the very beginning of their career.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll schedule some time to learn marketing and try a few things. I plan on writing a blog post about the experience and perhaps making a video breaking down whether a writer should have a podcast in the first place.
Keep in mind that I don’t make decisions based on the experiences of others. I need to go through the steps myself and perhaps improve upon the successes or failures of other creators. Besides, not every “strategy” works the same for everyone.
What Do I Hope to Accomplish with a Podcast?
What’s nice is that the podcast isn’t going to take a lot of time in my day to maintain. In less than an hour, I can edit and download the video from YouTube and then upload it to Spotify, which then distributes it to other platforms.
So, it’s not taking a lot of my day or taking away from my other writing projects. The end result might be something I can be proud of for creating.
Helping and Engaging Others
My focus has always been to share and help others in their decisions to become writers. Whether it’s from the perspective of a blog or publishing a book, it’s my goal to share something that helps in some way.
It’s why I tried to keep the YouTube channel going for six years before it was approved for monetization. It’s more about engagement than dollars.
By branching out into other platforms, it’s my goal to help writers who may not know that the blog or the YouTube channel exists. After all, not everyone who watches a video knows the blog is here, and vice versa.
Branching the Brand a Bit Further
I wouldn’t mind branching the blog a bit further than just YouTube and the blog. It goes along the lines of helping as many people as possible, but there is so much more I want to do with WriterSanctuary and its podcast.
For instance, I would love to afford to buy a printing press or two to provide an alternative to printing books that don’t charge an arm and a leg for low-volume orders. Building WriterSanctuary to a point where it can afford to do something like that would be great, which contributes to my next point of making money.
The bottom line is that I would love WriterSanctuary to be recognized in other markets. It would go a long way to helping me reach more people while affording some of the great things I’d love to do for the brand.
Maybe Help Pay Some Bills?
Technically, the podcast is already paying me. As of the end of November 2024, the YouTube channel earned enough hours to apply for monetization. Over the past 28 days, the live streams have earned $2.84.
Yeah, it’s not the “mad YouTube money” some people talk about. Part of the reason why I don’t make a lot is because the topics aren’t as interesting, and writing live streams tend to not perform as well as something like gaming or news broadcasts.
Nonetheless, it’s more money than I would have had otherwise.
I’m working on building up the YouTube channel to bring in a few more bucks per month, which should contribute to interesting topics for the WriterSanctuary podcast. Eventually, I make enough to pay a bill or two from the live shows across all the different platforms.
Be a Part of the Show!
I love live-streaming the After Hours podcast with WriterSanctuary. It gives me a chance to answer questions and interact with the viewers. Even when I have guests on the show, people watching can ask the guest questions directly that I might not think of asking.
It’s part of what makes the show a bit more unique than other podcasts. It’s unscripted, interactive, and often goes off the rails. But it’s a lot of fun, even if the show doesn’t perform all that well outside of YouTube.
If you’re curious, you could always hang out with us on Monday nights at 7:00 pm (MTN) on the WriterSanctuary YouTube channel. We often have several writers in the chat and would love to answer any questions you might have.
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