Darien Southerland is a podcaster with experience in both radio and advertising. He joins The Podcaster’s Podcast to talk about his journey into podcasting including his key takeaways from running a ‘hyper-local’ podcast and the importance of discoverability.

Connect with Darien on LinkedIn here

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Darien worked in radio which he then left to go into advertising. It was in advertising that he was introduced to Podcasting in 2017.
• Podcasting isn’t about appealing to the masses, it’s about niching down.
• Darien and Ash agree, there’s no such thing as too niche, if you are creating the right content for the right listeners you will find growth.
• The right advertisers will sponsor your show for the right audience; it’s highly valuable for them.
• Education, events and community are three subject matters in a hyper-local podcast.
• One of the hardest things in podcasting is discoverability; you have to be able to market your podcast and to the right people.
• Darien says to be prepared that you won’t make money in the first 6 months, podcasting takes time to grow.
• You only get one chance to make a first impression in podcasting, it’s essential that each episode sounds good and the content is great.

BEST MOMENTS

“Podcasting is not broadcasting, it’s narrowcasting”

“Find a very specific listener and create content for them”

“They would rather advertise to people who really care about what I am saying than putting it on broadcast”

“Banks like local relationships”

“People want to hear things about stuff they know, about folks they know”

“Your advertisers are your best promotors”

“You get one chance to make a first impression”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Podcast Production - The Cost of the Wrong Choice

How to Launch a Number 1 Podcast - Part 1

Free Podcast Workshop

https://tinyurl.com/Pod-Help

ABOUT THE GUEST

Darien Southerland excelled in the radio industry for 10 years. Billing over 14 million dollars alone, hosting his own show and creating great non-traditional revenue and sponsorships for his clients. In 2011 he left radio to form his own advertising, and he has worked and continues to work with brands like KIA, Georgia Aquarium, college Football hall of fame, Libert University and many others. In 2018 he saw how podcasts were intersecting with daily lives. He also saw a hole that local news was not being supported. At that point, he founded the BG podcast network and started working with Publishers, newspapers and brands creating hyperlocal and branded podcasts to tell their stories. 

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Kane Baron, Ashley Morris & Thom Luter manage over 150 live podcasts Including Rob Moore, Kevin Clifton, Shaa Wasmand MBE & more. 
Helping Entrepreneurs Launch, Scale & Monetise their podcast for over 6 years.

CONTACT METHOD

Website
LinkedIn

Email: [email protected]