Is Starting a Nonprofit Podcast Right for Your Organization?

May 12, 2023

First let’s get the podcasting backstory.

It turns out, according to the internet, that podcasting started back in 2004. At that time you probably had a Nokia brick phone…and now 73% of podcast listeners listen on their smartphone. 28% of adults listen while driving. 

There are 5 million podcasts out there, which initially feels like a lot, but compared to the 600 million blogs it’s actually just a drop in the pond.

As a marketing tool people use podcasts for content marketing. You release pieces of content to your audience on a regular basis in an effort to build a relationship and drive business for your company.  

Content marketing is kind of like network marketing in a way – get in early if you can. 

Think MaryKay business model. The women who started this MaryKay business in 1963 and gathered all those representatives under them are in pink Cadillacs for life! 

Same with the people who started growing their blogs back when blogs were young. They still have an ever growing population of people coming into their websites through their blog posts.  We started our blog back in 2008. Posting about once a week (less on the years I had those darn babies) we now get close to 9,000 visitors a month to our blog. It’s like a snowball effect. 

So what I’m trying to say is, if you’re thinking about starting a nonprofit podcast it would be a super solid marketing decision to start now instead of waiting until there’s a million more pink Cadillacs rolling around to compete with. 

If a blog is on the table and  you’re willing to compete with those 600 million blogs, then maybe, if talking is easier for you, jumping on board to compete with 5 million podcasts isn’t that big of a deal.

People know podcasts exist.

79% of other Americans, according to a recent survey in 2022, by Statista. And it’s growing. But it’s in its infancy. They estimate that by 2024, we should have another 20% increase in listeners. So there should be around 100 million listeners in the US by 2024.

Here’s a crazy stat for you, each week, more Americans listen to podcasts than have Netflix accounts. I literally thought everyone on the planet had a Netflix account.

Here are some crazy demographics for ya:

• 50% of people between the ages of 12 and 34 listen to podcasts.
• 43% of the respondents to the Statista survey between the ages of 35 and 54 had listened to a podcast in the last month.
• The fastest growing audience for podcasts is 55 and up.
• The United States accounts for nearly 50% Actually, 47.9% of podcast listeners.
• 80% of listeners listen to all or most of every podcast episode that they start.

Should you consider starting a nonprofit podcast?

Are you a talker?

Is talking a strength of yours? Because your marketing efforts need to be a combination of your strengths, and your assets. 

If you really hate talking, and it’s just like one syllable stumbling over the top of one another, and you sit down in front of a microphone, and it makes you want to throw up…you probably don’t need to do a podcast. If you can write, maybe a blog is better for you.

But also do know that anytime you sit down in front of a microphone for the first time, even if you are an accomplished public speaker, you’ll freak out a little bit. So that’s just part of the deal.

By Episode 100, you’re gonna be great. Heck, we felt like we had won an award this morning. Because when we went to set up our microphones, it only took us like two minutes. And it used to take us like an hour and a half to figure out how to get it all the work. You learn and you grow along the way. 

Don’t expect yourself to be perfect – done is better than perfect friends, everybody understands that you are where you are. 

Will a podcast allow you to connect with the people you need to grow your organization?

Umm is your audience between 12 and 54 years old? Are they in the United States? They’re probably listening to podcasts. Heck, listeners 55+ are the fastest growing demographic so really pretty much everyone is listening.

Your podcast will help you meet people through Google (if your podcast is also posted on your site) because when people search Google if your podcast has the keywords that they’re looking for in it Google May show one of your episodes in the search results.  

As an added benefit you also get to connect with people through the podcast networks. iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Amazon are all basically combo of a radio station and a podcast search engine. People on those networks can search for things they’re interested in and your podcast may pop up. 

Does your audience have a problem they’re trying to solve? Do you offer solutions to those problems?

I mean I guess you could just tell funny stories…comedy is the biggest sector of podcasts out there. 

But many times when people hit up Google or start searching for podcasts they’re looking for answers. On Marketing with Purpose (our podcast), we connect with people through helping them solve their problems. (Eh hem…just like we’re doing with this article right here 😉) That’s our method of marketing. 

So instead of feeling like yucky salespeople, we get to feel like awesome people helping others along on their journey. Because our podcasts are curated to help people solve problems, and I believe that your podcast could do the same thing. 

Does your audience need community?

Is your audience struggling with getting through their journey? Would it help them to know others have been there before them?

I have spoken to multiple nonprofits who I feel like they should start a podcast to serve as an anonymous support group and community. Physically arriving at a support group or networking event in person can be a big step. A scary step for some people. Physically showing your face and admitting, “I’m going through this.” 

When you put it in a podcast, you can reach people who are going through their journey, who need support and community but maybe can’t or are unwilling to show up in person. Your podcast can connect them with people who are going through the same challenges that they’re going through, and help them understand that they’re not alone.

But what if someone already has started a nonprofit podcast about the same topic you want to talk about?

That’s okay. It’s actually a good sign. It means the thing you want to talk about is something people want to hear.

And people jive with different people, right? You’re not besties with everyone. You’re going to cover that same topic in a different way that connects with different folks. You’ll tell different stories that are going to connect with people. 

Do you have to be techie to start a nonprofit podcast?

If you’re not techie, just know that there are tons of free YouTube videos that you can watch that will tell you exactly how to do what.

There are also online courses that take you through it step by step, everything you need to start your nonprofit podcast from picking your topics, to selecting the best microphone, and setting up equipment.  If you really want to get started and tech scares you, take advantage of an online course. Then you can have somebody hold your hand all the way through it.

A lot of people record their podcasts using Zoom. So you don’t necessarily have to know how to use all lots of fancy software to get started recording.

You can also easily outsource part of your production. Pay somebody to clean up your audio and make it sound better, or transcribe it for you.

What the heck is there to even talk about?

Highlight people in phases of their journey. 

I’m a Stu McClaren fan girl. And one of my favorite lessons from his training is the success path. Every client travels through milestones along the way to your ultimate vision of success. Even if we haven’t fully defined it, all of us have a success path for our clients to go through. 

In your podcast, you can highlight people in different phases of the journey. This helps you connect with and motivate people in different phases of their success path. It’s hard if you’re undergoing a huge transformation, to be able to see yourself on the other side. Sometimes what you really need is to connect with people who are where you’re at. 

Consider following a client through their journey throughout the year.

This can be powerful because your listeners will really feel like they know the family. They don’t have to meet a new character every single time.

Let’s say that you are an Autism Treatment Facility. You could champion a family throughout the year and show the milestones and progress that they make as a family. Both the treatments completed by their child and how the family interacts with them at home. This would allow families beginning treatment to imagine becoming that family in the middle. And those in the middle could imagine the transformation.  And both could feel not so alone in their journey. 

Interview other experts, thought leaders, and partners.

The people you provide solutions for face other challenges that are either peripheral or directly related to what you’re solving. Bringing in other experts to provide answers can position you as a valuable resource. Plus it allows you to network with other people and give back to other organizations.

Your guests can help spread your message by sharing their interviews with their audiences as well.

Tell a Story

Some businesses and organizations have a story to tell. One that can entertain and educate people. 

If you are an arts or culture organization, or a historical society you could share your community’s history. Interview the old timers who hang out at the coffee shop, sale barn, or McDonald’s every morning. And just ask them, what was X, Y, Z like back in the day? Spur discussion about different types of art, or even the journey that your community has gone through from an arts perspective. Explain the process of putting up the huge statue in the downtown area. You could tell the story about your community and allow people to rally around it and find community through that conversation.

Share Tips & Tricks

From gardening tips to decluttering. Everyone wants to learn how to do something better. Capitalize on our natural curiosity while sharing your expertise. Listeners will come to trust you and making these episodes should be easy peasy!

Debunk Myths & Misconceptions

When my oldest big dog passed away and I was wrangling two little kids, although I wanted another dog, I knew I couldn’t manage a large puppy roaming around my house too. It would have made for chaos.

But I thought all small dogs were just jerks. I was freaked out about getting a small dog because, while a big puppy might be chaos, I also didn’t want to have a crazy yapping creature trying to dominate everybody in my house either. 

After listening to four hours worth of podcasts, I realized that it was actually the humans making small dogs act like jerks. The dogs themselves were actually fine! So I got a small dog.  And she’s AWESOME.  See, your podcast could do that too!

So what do you think? Are you ready to start your nonprofit podcast?

Every organization should be publishing some type of recurring content, whether it’s a blog, social media posts, video content, or a podcast. And the key to success, regardless of the medium, is choosing one that compliments your strengths and posting consistently.  Hopefully, by reading this blog, asking yourself these questions, seeing the statistics, and inspirational ideas we came up with, you have what you need to make the decision if starting a nonprofit podcast might be right for you.