November 1st, 2014… a day that will live in infamy (on the internet).
The biggest news stories were:
- A judge in Maine rejected a strict Ebola quarantine for nurse Kaci Hickox
- Political unrest in Burkina Faso
- A hit-and-run incident in Santa Ana, California killed three 13-year-old girls
- The release of retired U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi by Mexican authorities
What dominated the headlines was the crash of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave Desert the day before.
In other news, that was also the release of the first podcast ever by Brian Basilico, entitled “Welcome To The Bacon Podcast.” If you listened that day or after for the first 6 months, it was initially called “My Marketing Magnet.”
It was created with little fanfare and even fewer listeners. My podcast mastermind folks convinced me to change the name to “The Bacon Podcast” to build on my brand of books. After that, the podcast relatively took off.
Over the years, my audience has grown to over 3000 listeners per month. In September 2024, there were over 1600 listeners. Then, in November 2024 (ten years into the journey), it dipped to only 136.
I am sure there are reasons for this decline, but I wholeheartedly believe that the content has gotten better. I had better guests and interviews, but the headwinds were strong.
- 184,000 new podcasts were started in 2024
- As of June, there were 460,000 active podcasts on Apple
- The quality of podcasts has been on the rise with larger teams and budgets
Here's the deal… Today will be my last podcast!
What's a Business?
A business is an entity that spends $1 and makes $3. You need $1 to pay for people or resources, $1 to pay for promotions, and $1 to make a profit. That's very simplified, but a business can survive making only $2 and needs a capital infusion if it makes less than it spends or costs to run.
A podcast or any business activity needs to have an ROI. My podcast helped me speak at conferences and sell books, but that was small potatoes when it came to my overall business needs. Since I have been an audio geek since my teen years, I could keep my expenses low. There was some expense for web hosting and distribution, but that was minimal.
Bigger podcasts have teams of people and much higher expenses and expectations to make a profit. In all honesty, I was the recording engineer, editor, producer, web developer, writer, fact checker, publicist, and more. If I had to pay for all those people once or twice a week, I would have gone bankrupt after the first few months.
Many podcasts are repurposed or edited versions of productions with all of those teams and more. They are there to increase audience engagement and sell more advertising.
It's challenging to run a business monetized on attention when you have almost 200,000 new competitors. At least one-tenth of them have podcast budgets bigger than my yearly business income.
What's a Podcast?
Podcasts started out as internet radio stations without the need for a broadcast partner. It was people sharing their thoughts and knowledge in an audio format. YouTube was for video, and Apple was for podcasts. The two have since blended in both audio and video and are distributed to both and more, like YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and others.
Podcasts come in two flavors (or two main reasons to exist). Most are started to help build or promote a personal or business brand.
My original goal was to spread my personal brand and define myself as an expert in online marketing. Although hundreds of expert guests in many areas boosted the number of listeners, I only achieved 300,000 downloads or listens in total over the course of 10 years.
Now you have people Like Joe Rogan, who makes around $100,000 per episode. I would venture to say that his guests are a bit better known than mine: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Dr. Phil, and many more.
That brings us to the second reason: Podcasts can sell commercials. The larger the audience, the more advertisers pay for placements. Joe Rogan gets over 10,000,000 listens per episode (primarily a consumer audience). This means that his team and business would only need to make 10¢ per listener from advertisers to make $1,000,000 per episode.
Smaller podcasts (like my favorite), Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, have around 400,000 monthly or 50,000 listeners per episode. Advertisers will have to net $20 per listener per episode to make them $1,000,000 a show. But, if you pay $20 per click on Google, you are not guaranteed to reach your target audience. So, for access to Pivot's B2b audience, $20 per listener could be considered a good deal for advertisers.
Why Now?
Over the last year, I have gone from two podcasts (an expert interview and a monocast) to just one per week. My audience has narrowed to B2b business decision-makers. Although my listener base was (and still is) small business owners trying to get better marketing advice, they generally don't spend money on services. They are looking for advice on how to save money and do it themselves.
I have tried to focus on how organic marketing and relationship marketing matter in the last and coming years. Still, the attention economy is almost solely focused on how and why Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize business, especially in marketing.
Like big shows with big audiences, making lots of money through advertising squeezes niche podcasts; the same goes for AI and marketing. The big money in AI is focused on the big guys with deep pockets and big budgets.
My audience wants to know the DIY tools that will save and make them money, and there are now thousands of GURUS who have days, weeks, and maybe years of experience in the new Wild West of AI.
While my company's customers and employees are beginning to embrace AI, my most successful ones realize they are making more money using old-time techniques, low-tech options, and plain old shoe leather (relationship and organic marketing).
Closing Thoughts
I have always been driven by three principles in life and business. Although I have not always been 100% successful in adhering to them, I have noticed that I am 1000 times happier and more successful when I do.
First, life is about motion, emotion, promotion, commotion, and finally, ethical motivation! “When you stop learning, you stop earning.” I have loved learning from others, and I believe that when you teach others, you learn twice as much, twice as fast!
Second, it's advice from Kenny Rogers. “You've got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, And know when to run.”
All that motion, emotion, promotion, commotion, and ethical motivation will never change the cards you are dealt.
Third, it's part biblical and for the Byrds: “To everything (turn, turn, turn) / There is a season (turn, turn, turn) / And a time for every purpose under heaven.”
2014 was my turn to start a podcast, and 2024 (now 2025) is my turn to explore better ways to serve you… my people, fans, and audience!
There are 1000 episodes of my podcast. It's mostly original, with some ‘Best Of' repeats, but I am proud of the consistency over the last ten years.
I look forward to what's next, but I am not going away, panicking, or quitting. As I told people to do during the pandemic, “Don't Panic—Pivot!” (which is still my favorite podcast).
I want to leave you with this… “Yesterday is History; Tomorrow is a Mystery; Today is a Gift.”
Be open to what gift today brings you… each and every gift you get by waking up!
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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.