Finding Your Voice: The Art Of The Financial Advisor Podcast

Whether to jump into the podcast scene is a difficult decision for financial advisors, but those who have done it say they’re glad they did.

To get behind the microphone and do the job right, investment advisors should take a look around and download as many financial podcasts as possible, experts say.

The best and most informative podcasts have the following elements in common:

• Quality content and great guests
• Superior production values
• They’re done professionally and edited well
• They have a schedule and/or regular basis
• They’re backed by a professional website where listeners can go for more information

So how hard is it for advisors to break into a podcast gig? Business experts who’ve done so say it’s actually not as difficult as one might think.

“It was very easy to start and didn't cost much,” said Casey Stubbs, host of the recently launched Finance and Markets Cashflow Hacking podcast. “The value has been good helped me network and build contacts in my industry.”

Podcasts experts say that if you’re strictly doing a podcast as sales tool, it likely won’t pan out.

“If you’re are interested in educating prospects and clients, yes, a podcast is a good idea,” said Spencer Shaw, who owns a podcast production company and is the host of The Prosperity podcast. “If you’re just in it to sell, sell, sell and expect an instant flood of leads, no, it’s not a good idea.”

'One Of The Best Platforms'

Podcasts are valuable to investment advisors because of the lifetime customer value in the financial industry and the challenge of high customer acquisition cost.

“Because of these related costs, a podcast is often one of the best platforms to educate and nurture a relationship which, over the long term, increases customer value and drops lead costs,” Shaw said.

Getting into the podcast business is doable and right now is a good time to get rolling, Shaw added.

“Even though podcasts are starting to get more attention, the concept is relatively new and there is a lot of opportunity to connect with the right audience,” he said. “Spotify (an online podcast service) is still the Wild West, meaning you can put up a show and get listeners quiet easily because there is not a lot of competition. I expect that window to be closed within 6-to-12 months, though.”

The primary skill you’ll need to succeed as a podcaster is communication.

“How good you are as a podcaster depends on how good a communicator the advisor is,” he said. “Some hosts are natural on the microphone and speak as though they were in a client meeting. Other hosts freeze up and have stage fright.”

Shaw offered these tips on breaking into the podcast business:

1. Create great quality content that people would actually want to listen to.
2. Know your specific audience and speak directly to them.
3. Get your current audience (via email and social media, for example) to subscribe to your podcast
4. Consistently publish episodes (at least two a month, but preferably weekly or more).

Additional Tips

Timewise, the process depends on how fast you can research and prepare for a podcast, and how long any interviews may take. Account for post-production time, too, Shaw said.

“Post production can vary between one and one-and-a-half the time of the actual audio recording,” he said.

It will cost about $79 to purchase a good USB microphone that plugs into any computer.

“Plus, each podcast must include files to store the podcasts, which costs about $20 per months on a popular podcast hosing platform like Libsyn,” Shaw said.

Often advisors and businesses hire a company to handle the entire production.

“That simply means the advisor records an episode, then uploads a file to the production company,” Shaw noted. “Nothing else is really needed from the speaker. The production company then edits the audio, creates artwork, does a full write up with a description and show notes and then publishes the episode.”

Shaw’s company, Podkick.com, is a production company that provides all of the services mentioned above, with prices starting at $700 per month for a podcast that rolls every week. “Prices increase depending on frequency and specific needs,” he said.

Be My Guest

It’s also possible to generate some buzz by being a guest on another money expert’s podcast.

“I’ve recently been on multiple podcasts as a guest,” said Joel Salomon, a prosperity coach at SaLaurMor and author of the best-selling book “Mindful Money Management: Memoirs of a Hedge Fund Manager.” “It doesn't cost anything to be a guest, and it doesn’t take much time.”

Being a podcast guest is “great exposure,” Salomon said, and the experience helped him sign up coaching clients and sell his book.

If you’re willing to give podcasts a try, either as a host or a guest, the benefits of doing so are abundant. Just be realistic about what you’ll get out of the experience.

“Being on a podcast expands your audience and client base but it's not the magic pill that will solve all lead generation,” Shaw said. “Perhaps the biggest benefit is how it affects … prospects and clients. It shortens the education cycle of a prospect and helps them understand the language and tools of the industry and strengthens the relationship.”

Brian O'Connell is a former Wall Street bond trader, and author of the best-selling books, The 401k Millionaire and CNBC's Guide to Creating Wealth. He's a regular contributor to major media business platforms. Brian may be contacted at [email protected].

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