Podcasts/radio shows are constantly changing and adapting to how people interact with them, and in 2018 more people than ever, were listening to radio and podcasts online. Over half of online audio podcast listeners are millennials, more so than any other demographic.
And while these new kind of shows are getting big audiences, they have their share of fans who are fanatical about their favorite online show and don’t want any interruptions. My personal favorites are The Read Podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Hidden Brain podcast and The Emerald City Podcast, and while there is great content on any one of these shows, with episodes as short as 30 minutes, it’s a challenge to find out anything about the show when it comes to this kind of expert, personal, interaction.
Also, although many of these shows have brought in huge audiences, not all of them make money, or are profitable. What should people do when they don’t have the money to be able to book hundreds of people for a fun show, like a spa night?
One great way to think about this is as an Extension. A social extension is something we do all the time. These extensions could include any number of things, like streaming music, games, dating services, etc.
When an Extension is created, it’s done using Spotify, Livefyre, or other similar services many of which work with a browser extension). When a user opens a certain extension in their browser, and starts to listen to something on Spotify, or to watch a video on YouTube, or to listen to audio on SoundCloud, they are not actually accessing Spotify, YouTube, or SoundCloud directly, they are simply accessing the extension.
Every time you listen to an extension, like the one above for example, when you “listen” to a show like The Emerald City Podcast. the extension is doing one thing and one thing only: playing the program, and supplying audio, while listeners can customize it for how they want to enjoy it: by activating mute, minimizing or increasing on/off features, etc. In so doing, you’re controlling the experience in a very personal way.
If you’re looking for a viable, profitable extension for your podcast, make sure you work with a company that has great reputation in the digital space, has a good track record for creating great extensions, and understands the practical side of Extension creation, like how to create a great experience. It can’t be simple enough for listeners to type in a Twitter username, play a part, get something and end up with the extension installed on their computer.
Unfortunately, while these extensions are great, they don’t last forever. As readers know, iTunes is a very important part of people’s listening experience, but without the continuing support of iTunes, there would be no “Extension.” Good Extension companies and the extension ones they’re associated with, require strong partnerships, so this may be difficult. They need to work with those who can support Extension technology as part of a larger business, and they need to find a way to help people build their business and deliver a great extension experience. These partnership opportunities can be a very profitable “side gig” for a podcast creator, and I’ll give you more detail about that in next week’s example.
At the end of the day, there are people out there who have established business online, but they’re also passionate about building a business around the channel they create, whether that channel is radio, podcasts, video, webinars, etc. Look for a company that is willing to support your business and help build the extension opportunity for you, to make sure your extension lasts, for as long as possible.
If you have any tips, or would like to get a better understanding of the plugin and Extension market, please share this story with your fellow podcasters/podcast fans!