Help Your Clients Learn on the Go with Private Podcasts

Staying ahead of the curve

Private podcasts are a great way to test out whether creators like audio as a medium.

In today's fast-paced world, busy people are constantly seeking convenient and efficient ways to learn and grow both personally and professionally, especially entrepreneurs and business owners. If you are a consultant, coach, or someone who provides professional services to this group of busy people, a private podcast can offer an on-the-go learning experience tailored to the unique needs of each individual. With private podcasts, your clients can stay ahead of the curve by absorbing valuable knowledge during their daily commute, at the gym, or while walking the dogs. By implementing private podcasts into their routine, savvy business owners can save time and enhance their learning experience, ultimately contributing to their overall success.

I recently interviewed Lindsay Padilla, co-founder of Hello Audio on my podcast to learn more.  Lindsay is a former college professor, so she knows firsthand the importance of making learning accessible and appealing to various learning styles. Drawing from her experiences in academia and her transition into the business world, Lindsay and her co-founders at Hello Audio offer private podcasts as an engaging and efficient way to absorb information and stay ahead.  Thinking about incorporating a private podcast into your business?  Here are the three simple steps. 

Identify the specific needs and learning goals of your target audience 

It is crucial to understand the unique needs and preferences of your target audience, as well as their preferred learning styles and pace. By doing so, you will be able to tailor your content accordingly, providing a convenient and accessible learning medium that caters to the needs of busy entrepreneurs who are constantly on the move. This adaptive approach, according to Lindsay Padilla is the backbone of effective educational content. Do they prefer short, to-the-point information or will they respond better to episodes with a little humor or storytelling?  The better you understand your listeners' preferences, the more you can tailor your private podcast to them. 

In an increasingly fast-paced world, finding the time to learn and grow can be a challenge for many professionals. However, by properly identifying the target audience and setting appropriate learning goals, private podcast creators can offer a flexible and convenient solution for learning on the go. By understanding and addressing the unique needs of learners, content creators can maximize engagement and ensure that their audience derives value from the educational material. 

Drawing from her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction in adult learning, Padilla is very enthusiastic about private podcasts as a learning tool, especially for learners who prefer asynchronous learning. By leveraging the unique features of audio, private podcasts can offer an accessible and engaging learning experience that is easily incorporated into the busy lifestyles of entrepreneurs. The importance of this key step cannot be overstated, as it directly affects the success and impact of the learning experience provided by private podcasts. 

Choose the right hosting platform for your private podcast 

One of the key steps to offering on-the-go learning is choosing the right podcast hosting platform. By selecting a platform tailored to the specific needs of private podcasting,  such as Hello Audio,  busy entrepreneurs can benefit from the convenience and immersion of audio-based learning while having the flexibility to consume content according to their schedule. 

Hello Audio provides a platform where creators can build private feeds accessible only to select listeners, offering a more intimate and immersive learning experience. Padilla also mentioned that audio-first or audio-only products can provide unique learning experiences, as they cater to a wider range of learning styles and preferences. A hosting platform like Hello Audio provides the tools needed to create private feeds for exclusive listeners, delivering an accessible, immersive, and personalized learning experience. This allows entrepreneurs to not only consume content on their terms but also strengthens the connection with the content creators, due to the immersive quality of a private podcast. 

Unlike a public podcast, a private podcast gives the creator an opportunity to engage with specific listeners and ask them questions about their content.  Hello Audio makes it very easy to update, revise, add to or swap out episodes off the private podcast, so the experience can be much more interactive than a public podcast.  If it suits both you and your target audience, you can invite them to share specific feedback for what they would like to hear more about, and then create it for them.  This accelerates the development of trust and enhances the relationship you have with your listeners. 

Plan and structure your podcast content

By thoroughly planning your content, you can ensure that each episode is well-organized and delivers value to your audience. This will not only encourage listeners to stick around for current episodes but will also entice them to eagerly anticipate future releases.  While it is much easier to start a private podcast than you might imagine,  it will have the greatest impact and value if you have a goal and a plan for both the entire podcast and each episode.  Examples of potential goals are: nurturing leads to become clients, helping members or course participants get through a digital course by providing a convenient alternative to watching videos and reading handouts, provide preliminary information that every client needs to know before you begin working with them or help potential clients determine if they are actually ready to hire you.  Having a plan for each episode and treating the series of episodes as a customer journey will make the content more engaging and easier for you to create. 

Lindsay Padilla acknowledges that some people are more likely to listen than watch videos, as audio is more accessible and can be consumed while doing other activities. Padilla also highlighted that private podcasts are a great way to test out whether creators like audio as a medium, and to see if their audience responds positively to it.  In fact, when I start working with a business strategy client who wants to start a public podcast, I will often recommend they create a private podcast first, in order to determine if their ideal clients enjoy audio-based content from them and to see if they are actually ready to commit to the effort and expense of an episodic, ongoing show.  

By delivering high-quality, well-planned content, you provide a valuable resource for your audience that they can consume at their convenience and return to whenever they wish. . In today's fast-paced business world, staying ahead of the curve requires constant learning and growth. Private podcasts offer the entrepreneur a convenient and engaging way to achieve this. But the planning process doesn’t stop with deciding what will be included in each audio recording.  

To maximize the benefit of your private podcast, you may also want to enhance the experience with diverse supplementary materials, and customize your podcast feed, encourage listener feedback.  Simply because a private podcast is an audio-based learning experience doesn’t mean you can’t link to text-based content your subscribers would value as reference material.   The possibilities are endless.  

I happen to be an affiliate for Hello Audio because it is the platform I use for my private podcast and the one I recommend to my business strategy and coaching clients.  If you’re ready to start a private podcast of your own, you can use this link to start your 7-day free trial and give me an affiliate commission for introducing Hello Audio (at no additional cost to you): https://bit.ly/3qNXEKV