Tom Schwab is the founder of Interview Valet, a podcast booking service. So if you’ve ever wanted to get interviewed on a podcast, Tom and Interview Valet can help. In today’s conversation, Tom and I talk about the art and science of podcast - specifically in terms of how we can use podcasting to market and sell our products and services.

First, we begin with the state of podcasting. This includes what's happening in the podcasting space right now, from the types of podcasts people are listening to, to how people are consuming podcast content, and more. Personally, I view podcasting as a subset of content marketing. Content marketing, as the name implies, is using content to get traffic, leads, and sales. For instance, if you're an author, you'd want to use content marketing to build an email list so you can grow your exposure and book sales. There are big changes happening in the content marketing landscape, including a big shift toward audio and video content in the form of podcasts and video consumption on YouTube (thanks, in large part, to the increasing speed of connectivity and proliferation of cheap technology). So we discuss these macro trends and how they’re impacting the value of podcasting from the perspective of being a podcast host, as well as being a guest or interviewee on another person's podcast.

Second, we talk about how podcasting can be used as a lead generation tool. Specifically, if you want to generate traffic, leads and sales, what do you need to do to make that happen? Tom Schwab walks us through his process, including types of landing pages you need to create to turn traffic into optins, why we need to think about mobile optimization, and much more. The best part of this conversation: Tom brings a bunch of interesting statistics and analytics to support (and challenge) common opinions about podcasting and it's value as a marketing medium.

In this broadcast, Tom Schwab and I talk about:

• The state of podcasting (what's happening in the market place as of 2018)
• What the future of podcasting looks like (and trends you'll want to take advantage of if you want to grow your platform)
• The power of small 'yeses'
• How to find the right podcasts for your message
• How to turn podcast listeners into sales (warning: it has nothing to do with selling!)
• Why podcasting can be such a powerful tool to grow your email list (just make sure you don't screw up this one very important thing...)

And much more.

Useful Resources from my Conversation with Tom Schwab

• Secrets to get on your first podcast

How to connect with WHITNEY JOHNSON online:

• interviewvalet.com
• @tmschwab

TOM SCHWAB on SMART SELLING: "I don't go online to have people sell me stuff. I go online to find solutions to my problems...you have to use this same framework with podcasting." - Tom Schwab Get the Latest Broadcasts of In The Trenches

Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes

How You Can Support In The Trenches

Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.