An influencer with over 50 million podcast downloads gives her advice on how to start a successful podcast in 2019
- Social-media influencer Lauryn Evarts Bosstick cohosts "The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast" with her husband, Michael Bosstick.
- The show, produced by Michael's influencer-focused podcasting network Dear Media, has over 50 million episode downloads, and over 5,000 five-star reviews on iTunes.
- Lauryn spoke to Business Insider about her tips on what it takes to launch a successful podcast as an influencer in 2019.
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Podcasting has become a popular medium for influencers, and Lauryn Evarts Bosstick is at the forefront.
"Podcasting is the only medium that saves time," Bosstick told Business Insider. "Every other medium takes the consumer's time." Instagram and Facebook require the user to sit and watch a screen, but podcasting respects an audience's time because they can passively listen while multitasking, she said.
"As a creator that feels really good," she added. "Think about who you are talking to and care about their time."
Bosstick cohosts the show, "The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast," with her husband Michael Bosstick, who is the cofounder and CEO of the female/influencer-focused podcasting network, Dear Media.
The podcast, which has over 50 million episodes downloaded and over 5,000 five-star reviews on iTunes, launched as an extension of Lauryn's already-established brand (under the same name) online. Lauryn launched her blog, TSC, after she graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in TV broadcasting. What started out as a fitness blog turned into a full-on lifestyle page, with tips on relationships, fashion, home decor, beauty, and travel.
On the podcast, the Bossticks interview industry professionals within the lifestyle, beauty, and wellness space, like actress and entrepreneur Jessica Alba, social-media influencer Gigi Gorgeous, and Kamiu Lee, the CEO of the influencer marketing company Activate.
"I was bored with a picture on Instagram and a caption," Lauryn, who has 898,000 Instagram followers, said of starting the podcast. "It's just not enough anymore, even as a consumer."
But not every Instagram star is prepared for podcasting. Lauryn spoke to Business Insider about her tips to launching a successful podcast as a social-media influencer in 2019.
1. Have a unique perspective and stop blaming market saturation.
Any social-media influencer can start a podcast, Lauryn said. But to be successful, the first step is to stop using the word "saturated" as an excuse not to get started in earnest, she said.
"I think that people who say the space is saturated don't want other people to come in," she said. "Personally, I'm in the space and I don't find it to be too saturated if you have a unique perspective."
Lauryn keeps the content she creates across all of her platforms online consistent, she said. Her followers know to expect beauty and lifestyle content from her. By podcasting about a niche topic you care about, you are able to build a specific community around the perspective you are sharing.
The Bossticks recorded their first podcast episode in their kitchen, with affordable equipment they found online, Lauryn said. Their first guest was Michael's sister.
"My advice is always to stop talking about it and take action," she said. "Get out there, get your hands dirty."
2. Make sure your content provides value and find ways to distribute it.
Lauryn said a podcaster should have a strong voice, strong opinion, and the "right sort of recipe."
"The recipe is like a cake: When it comes to content creation, you have to have the discipline, patience, and quality of content," she said. "If you have the right mixture, you can be successful."
When they were first starting out, she said they recorded a podcast every week and learned from experience as they went along.
Once you have the technical aspects down, Lauryn said that it's important to find ways to distribute your content online, and said Instagram and an email newsletter are two that she's found to work well.
"It's so important for scaling your business and distributing your content," she said. Use Instagram, and the Instagram Story feature, to spread the word that you've published an episode, and create a weekly or monthly email newsletter as a way to highlight an individual episode.
Lauryn also said more people need to focus on the overall reachability of a podcast across the world. Many topics that seem niche can appeal to similar communities worldwide, vastly improving the reach of a podcast.
3. Gain your audience's trust and build intimacy.
Lauryn said she only works with brands she actually uses and recommends to people in her life. Because of that, she said it's really easy for her to talk about a specific product in a brand sponsorship deal on her show.
"I have to think, 'Is someone going to buy this product?' And not only are they going to buy the product, but are they going to recommend it to 10 of their friends?" she said. "If the answer is no, then for me, I don't want to talk about it. It's all about gaining the audience's trust, which is so important as an influencer."
Podcasting may not be for everyone, she said, but it's a way for an influencer to build a deeper connection with their audience.
"Nowadays, the audience wants more from their favorite content creator," she said. "Audio is a way to really zone in on that 'more factor,' and gain an intimacy with the audience."
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