When you’re a business owner starting a podcast as part of your marketing and sales strategy, how you approach podcasting will look different from hobby and influencer podcasters. If you want a successful podcast, you have to treat your podcast like a business. This is why there are seven things to know before starting a podcast for your business. I have been in the podcast industry for over 4 years, including hosting the Evergreen Marketing Era for Women Entrepreneurs Podcast for the past 3 years, producing over 600 podcast episodes, and supporting over 50 women entrepreneurs in launching, optimizing, and monetizing their podcasts. The entrepreneurs I’ve seen build successful podcasts that support their business growth all knew these seven things before launching. Let’s break each of these down to help you start a podcast that generates leads and clients.
7 Things to Know Before Starting a Podcast for Your Business
Think of this list of what to know before starting a podcast as your personal starting a podcast checklist. This list shows you exactly what you need to know as a business owner who wants to leverage a podcast to generate leads and sign clients.
1. Know the Who, What, Why, and How of Your Podcast
One of the most important things to know before starting a podcast for your business is the who, what, why, and how of your podcast. Before you launch, you need to be able answer the following questions:
- Who: Who is your podcast for? Who is your target audience?
- What: What do you want your podcast to do for you, your business, and your audience?
- Why: Why are you creating this podcast?
- How: How will your podcast support your business goals?
Answering these questions helps you clarify your overall podcast purpose and goals. Your answers will dictate the type of podcast content you will create.
2. Podcast SEO
I know SEO is often one of those things talked about a lot in the online space, and it can feel overwhelming trying to learn. If you want your podcast to attract your highest quality leads and for your audience to grow organically, you have to learn podcast SEO. Podcast SEO is so important that it’s a core part of what I teach inside my Evergreen Marketing Accelerator. It’s how one of my accelerator clients saw an 860% increase in listeners in 12 months, and had over 20 of her podcast listeners apply to work with her for 1:1 coaching in 2025. You can hear more about how podcast SEO grew her podcast audience and her business here.
3. Podcasting is a Learned Skill
I mean this in the most genuine way possible, but your first few (or several) podcast episodes will suck. Even great public speakers will not like their first few episodes. My first 50 or so episodes make me cringe. I look at where I am now in my podcasting journey, and I’m so proud of the growth and progress I’ve made. Podcasting is a skill you have to learn, and the only way to learn is by working your podcast muscles. The more you show up consistently, record, and publish episodes, the better you will get. You can only get better with practice. But the only way to get better is to start and stick with it.
4. Focus on Monetizing with Your Own Offers Instead of Sponsorships
Often, when people think about podcasting, they think of podcast sponsorships. While there is nothing wrong with podcast sponsorships, they should not be your focus when podcasting for your business. You see a greater and quicker return on investment when you sell your own offers and products on your podcast compared to promoting someone else’s product or service. In 2025, the cost per thousand impressions for podcast sponsorships ranged from $18 – $50. These numbers depended on the podcast’s niche, size, and listener engagement. It’s not worth your time or energy trying to grow your podcast audience and engagement just for so little money. Converting one of your podcast listeners into a client for your core offer is a much greater return than any sponsorship. You also don’t have to wait until you reach a certain number of monthly downloads before you can start making money from your podcast.
5. Expensive Equipment or a Studio Setup is NOT a Requirement for Quality Audio
Of all the things you need to know before starting a podcast for your business, this is the second most important thing to remember. Far too often, business owners hold off on starting a podcast because they don’t have the perfect setup to record their episodes. They believe they need an expensive microphone and an in-home studio to record their episodes. It’s not necessary. Full transparency, I record my episodes sitting on the floor in my walk-in closet using the Voice Memo app on my iPhone. Yet if I hadn’t told you, you would never have known I was only using my phone to record. I do have a microphone (a Samson Q2U) that I use primarily for interviews. It cost me less than $100, and it helps me capture quality audio every time I use it. If you want a list of my top recommended podcast equipment and tools, check out my blog on 12 of the Best Podcast Tools for Podcasting Business Owners.
6. You Don’t Have to Start a Video Podcast to Have a Successful Podcast
Many business owners are told that if they are going to start a podcast, it needs to be a video podcast. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The 2025 podcasting stats show that audio only podcasts outperform video podcasts. More importantly than that, it’s all about what you can realistically commit to in this season of your life and how you enjoy creating content. If you don’t like video or don’t have the capacity to commit to video right now, start with an audio only podcast. You don’t want anything to get in the way of you getting started, so make it easy on yourself.
7. Do NOT Choose a Free Podcast Hosting Platform Like Spotify for Creators
While there is nothing wrong with keeping your monthly podcast expenses down, skimping on your podcast hosting platform is not the way to go. Platforms like Spotify for Creators are limited in the data they provide. When you are podcasting for your business, you need detailed data to make informed decisions about your podcast. This is why I always recommend Captivate to my clients. Captivate was created for podcasting business owners. It provides you with so many tools and resources to support podcast growth and monetization. The analytics provide rich insights into your podcast listeners, allowing you to make data-driven decisions.
Next Steps for Starting a Podcast for Your Business
Now that you have a clear understanding of the 7 things to know before starting a podcast for your business, you’re ready to begin planning and launching your podcast. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect to start. But you do have to start and be consistent if you want to get better. If you want strategic support so you don’t have to figure it all out on your own, apply to the Evergreen Marketing Accelerator. When you join, we will map out your podcast launch during your kickoff call. I will provide you with the tools and resources you need to launch a podcast for your business without feeling overwhelmed.
This blog post may contain affiliate links for products and services I personally use and love. If you click one of the links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
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