Podcasts are booming: For the Online audio monitor A good 7,500 people nationwide were surveyed about which online formats they use at least occasionally. According to the results, around one in six Germans listens to podcasts. This percentage varies quite subjectively in one's own environment. The question 'Which podcasts are you listening to right now?' has long since replaced Netflix series, movies, and books as a topic of small talk with friends, professional contacts, and at the hairdresser. What can startups learn from the meteoric rise of podcasts?
1. Your product must be fun – or useful
The competition between podcast formats for their listeners' scarce time is relentless: Users only have a limited time budget to listen to podcasts, for example, while commuting, taking the subway, or cleaning their weekly apartment. Podcast producers have no control over this. A listener gained usually means another audio format loses a listener. Competition is a zero-sum game.
The vast majority of startups are in a similar situation: The market volume is finite, and potential customers have a limited budget. Therefore, the same applies to podcasts as to startup products and services: You have to be better, more fun, and more useful than the competition – and stay that way. Otherwise, customers will be gone as quickly as they came.
2. Don't over-engineer your product
German inventors, in particular, tend to constantly add new features and functions to their products. They use the latest technology, which ultimately only increases the product's price unnecessarily. The end result is a huge disappointment: Nobody wants the product.
Here, too, we can learn from the podcast boom: In times of complex entertainment formats, elaborate series, and video games with development budgets of hundreds of millions of euros, voice recordings seem downright archaic. The standard setting: two people talking in front of running microphones. Editing and production are easy to learn – and people love it!
3. Use the second-mover advantage
Podcasts have been around for more than 15 years. The name is derived from the now largely forgotten MP3 player, the iPod. And how long have the most successful German podcasts been running? Spotify's podcast charts are topped by Fest & Flauschig (since May 2016), Gemischtes Hack (September 2017), Dick & Doof (August 2019), and Baywatch Berlin (November 2019).
Sometimes it's not the time advantage that counts, but the 'second-mover advantage': Let others figure out what works and what doesn't. You don't have to make the costly rookie mistakes yourself. Instead, learn from others' failures and do better!
4. The chemistry between people counts
Good podcasts are simply fun to listen to. One prerequisite for this is that the spark jumps from the speakers to the audience. Whether it's friendly, friendly conversation or engaging discussions – the chemistry between the people behind the microphone has to be right.
The same applies to startup teams. Even cross-functional teams that appear perfect on paper can fail if the members simply don't get along in stressful situations. Therefore, consider carefully who you begin the strenuous and unpredictable startup journey with. The tool Aligna Team can also help to uncover different ideas within a founding team at an early stage.
5. Be creative with monetization
Many podcasters struggle to earn money from their work. The number of followers and views is constantly rising, but the listeners themselves aren't bringing in any money. This calls for creativity and identifying their own strengths. For example, someone with a very specific target audience could find a sponsor who wants to reach that audience with a short spoken advertisement in the podcast. Professional podcast marketers such as Julep There are companies on the market that support podcasters in their search for advertising partners. Podcasts with a more affluent target audience can collect money from their listeners on platforms like Patreon and offer additional content in return. Those who have already built up a large fan base can seek contact with streaming providers who offer a fixed salary in return for exclusive rights to the content they produce.
Often, a mix of different monetization models is the right approach. This is even more true for startups: Be creative, look for new ways to make money, and keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.
