Winter is Coming... Again

Good afternoon Party People!

It's Thursday, this week has flown by and Im finally writing my "Monday" newsletter. I've been sitting on this one all week because it's a doozy and I want to make sure I get this right. I've been spending a lot of time over the last year and half looking at podcast stats because we also offer podcast booking services to our clients. I've owned a multimedia company for 24+ years and I have spent quite a bit of time booking people on various stages around the world and it dawned on me that we were missing out on an opportunity in booking services, so I fired up the engines and starting booking our clients on podcasts that fit their target audience and topic.

In our business we don't care about downloads because downloads don't close deals, relationships do. So when I am working with our clients I am constantly encouraging them not to care about downloads and to focus on who they are interviewing and why. However, when booking my clients on other people's podcasts, I 10000% care about how many downloads those shows are getting and whether or not they are real.

I've learned a lot about the podcast space in this process, mainly around the numbers. I don't want to jump the shark here but it's all fake. I know, this is a wild way to start this newsletter but when have I ever been one to shy away from the blunt facts? Do you even know me at all, cmon. But seriously, its 95% bullshit. All those download numbers you see, aren't real. In October of last year Apple announced that the auto downloads were going away and basically its been a bloodbath in the industry since. You know how when you used find a new podcast and subscribe to it, it would automatically download new episodes to your phone? Doesn't mean you actually listened to it, it just meant it was downloaded on your phone ready to be listened to. If an ad falls in the woods...

As you can imagine these numbers are wildly different and the advertisers aren't happy. All those big checks for big visibility landed in a podcast graveyard. Well, the checks landed in the bank but the ads never landed at all. Imagine paying premium rates for ad space on content that was never even heard, seen or even noticed. On the same track is the big contracts that the Joe Rogan spinoffs have because the actual listens is significantly lower than downloads which means those contracts lost 50%+ of their value overnight. Brutal.

What does this mean for booking agencies like mine? Well, it means that all the numbers we were seeing have also been halved, or more. It means that show that said they had 2k downloads actually only has 274 per episode. It means that the numbers we saw were wrong and it really makes me question the value of these services.

This is where it gets tricky. Is podcast guesting an excellent business development and marketing tool, yes. Is it worth what people are charging to get you booked, NO. Is it a lot of work, yes. Is it worth $1200+ a booking + whatever the hosts charge? Sadly, no.

You are probably thinking, Molly you are really bad at sales but the reality is Im just really bad at overcharging people for things that don't have real value. I know that goes against every business coach's plan for me but the truth is I know there is a lot of value in going on other's people's podcast but I also know that it's not worth nearly what a lot of people are charging for this service.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry with AI and a little coding experience is creating a new podcast tool to get you booked using AI. Well, I dont want to ruin anyone's day but those companies are a dime a dozen and wont be around in 6 months. We have all gotten a poorly AI written podcast pitch and you can smell them a mile away. On the same token, lots of PR companies are getting in the game and the results are even worse.

Not all podcasts are created equal, just because they are active doesn't make it a good fit. You still need the knowledge, the experience and the ability to filter the good from the bad, and let me tell you there is about 99% more bad than good. Phew, if only you knew how bad it is out here, you would be pouring some Bailey's in your coffee too.

We will continue to offer our booking services because I know we are better at it than everyone else but our rates will reflect the work and the value because at the end of the day I want to see my clients win AND I am building relationships with hosts around the world. If anyone is going to monetize their podcasts it should be them, not me. My goal is to connect good people with good people in a way that makes sense and drives revenue.

So, if you have been reviewing podcast booking agency pitches and you are thinking to yourself, this sounds too good to be true, or what they hell are they even offering, run. If you are talking to a company and all they do is podcast booking, run. If you are talking to an agency who outsources the outreach, run. Podcast booking is a killer tool but only in the right hands. I've seen companies charging insane rates and all they guarantee are pitches. Well, if only we could all get paid on our efforts and not the results...Id be a gajillionaire.

My takeaway: Getting booked on OPP (other people's podcast) is a great way to forge relationships, get exposure and dial in your CTAs and talking points but be realistic in your efforts to find the right agency to work with. There is a lot of funny business out there so stay vigilant and pair your booking efforts with other marketing efforts to get the best results. Its a super powerful tool that can bring in clients but it can also be a huge waste of time and money so choose carefully who you work with.

The best agency to work with is the group that understands your mission, your ICP, your goals and your timelines. If they aren't willing to get in the trenches with you, they ain't worth the money.

Maybe that's us, actually it's definitely us, but no matter who you hire make sure their efforts match the price tag.

Let's grab coffee and talk smack about bad podcast pitches.

Molls