MeetEdgar: Growing Through Podcast Tours w/ Laura Roeder

The power of podcast tours.

"Pound for pound, I think a brand is always better off being featured as the content rather than the advertiser."

Laura doesn't hide the fact that getting invited on as a guest to other people's shows is the #1 way MeetEdgar has gained customers. At one point, she makes the analogy that podcast tours (being a guest on other shows) is like guest blog posting, but without all the work of writing and editing an article.

Essentially, when you're a guest on someone else's show, you get to talk directly to the audience they've worked hard to build up. Which is an amazing opportunity, but also a weighty responsibility. One that she takes seriously.

Bringing value to listeners.

"Be likeable, be authentic, and be yourself. I don’t come in with talking points where I’m trying to promote my company. No one wants to listen to an advertisement. I find that the value of podcasts is forming a personal connection between the people behind the brand, and the customer."

Given how powerful podcast tours have been for Laura and the ME team, it might be temping for some to just "rinse and repeat" that process. But Laura is always very thoughtful about her guest appearance.

With each one, she strives to do 2 things:

1. Drop any canned pitches/selfish focuses, and be as authentic and relatable as possible.
2. Bring as much value as possible to the listeners.

This means that for each interview, she's thinking about who the audience is, and trying to bring insight or value that will make their lives better.

She also points out that podcasting is uniquely powerful in that, unlike almost any other medium, it allows listeners to feel like they "know" your company. By listening to Laura talk for 30+ minutes and hearing her story, listeners are able to better relate to MeetEdgar and the values it stands for.

As we'd say, it "builds trust" unlike any other medium.

Everyone should try podcasting, in some form or another.

“I just think for so many companies it’s worth a shot. Audio is such a low resource medium."

MeetEdgar has since started it's own show, and Laura recommends that every company try audio in some form or another. She points out that if you have customers, they probably listen to a podcast. Which means you can reach them there.

You don't have to do podcast tours (like she did) either. There's ads, creating your own show, or even creating an employee-focused show.

But she does recommend that everyone try it as a marketing channel.

And loads of practical tips.

Besides the main takeaways, Laura shares really nitty gritty practical things, like how she devotes 1 week every month as "podcast week". During this week, she books as many as 4 interviews a day, and 20 in a week. This allows her to knock out a bunch of interviews in a short time frame, so she can get back to doing other work the rest of the month.

Check em' out

• MeetEdgar's website
• Social Post Podcast