Let’s say you wanted to do networking.
Would you rather:
Option A
- Network where you get to look at accomplishments and descriptions and pick who you talk to.
- Guarantee you’re going to talk for an hour – enough time to create a connection.
- Simultaneously build a personal brand.
- Simultaneously do SEO.
- Get paid for each networking call you have.
Option B
- You meet a random person and talk to them for an unspecified amount of time and that’s it.
What would you pick??
Option B is normal networking.
Option A might be one of the greatest networking hacks there is.
Podcast hosting. Not normal podcast hosting – podcast hosting through podcast matching platforms.
I previously talked about using these platforms to get easy guest appearances.
But it only occurred to me this morning that this is also a crazy networking/branding hack.
I discovered these platforms in 2022 and used them to go on 30 podcasts in 3 months. Because I was paying for them, and because I was using them to get SEO backlinks, I said yes to every request I received. The result was a lot of podcast guest appearances.
And the thing is, many people on these platforms have the same mindset. They’ll say yes to everything, even if the show is new. They’re paying the monthly subscription fee to get matched with hosts and go on shows.
If you’re not already well-known or super-networked, it’s hard to get on shows. Podcast matching platforms are a great place to start.
But I didn’t consider it from the perspective of somebody doing networking.
How it works
Let’s say you’re just starting in your field. If you have a microphone, great. If not, that’s okay too.
Here’s what you do.
Level one
Use PodMatch. I’m an affiliate of this platform and a huge fan of it. I used it to get 70% of my guest appearances in 2022 and it’s the platform that pays hosts per episode. You won’t make a lot but according to this breakdown you’ll make enough to more than pay for the subscription fee.
You can also use MatchMaker.fm, which I got 20% of my guest appearances in 2022 from. However, MatchMaker does not pay hosts.
Create a host profile.
Look through guest profiles and get matched with guests. Choose who you want to talk to.
Do a minimum 1 hour Google Meet or Zoom. Treat it like you would a normal hangout / networking call. Have fun with it. Don’t try to interview the other person, just try to create a connection. Screen record it.
Take the audio and put it on Libsyn. Libsyn is what I use to host the audio versions of my daily podcast. It’s inexpensive and also pushes your audio to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, etc.
Take the video version and upload it to YouTube. Level one – do little to zero editing. Make the thumbnail just a screenshot from the video.
YouTube videos rank ridiculously well on Google now:
Do some keyword research to find a term that covers some of what you talked about on the call. Put that term at the beginning of the YouTube video title and at the beginning of the description for the video. Write a decently long description to cover what was talked about and make the video more searchable.
Use the same title and description on Libsyn.
Share the podcast episode on LinkedIn, Instagram, etc to show you’re active in your niche. Tag the guest.
Level two
Still use PodMatch, MatchMaker, Libsyn, and YouTube.
Still treat the podcast like a networking call.
Still do the keyword research and video SEO.
But put a little bit more effort into the production.
Run the podcast through Descript Studio Sound (I use this for my daily podcast – it’s one click and makes audio sound crispyyy).
Use the Descript transcript editor to remove anything you don’t want in the show.
Use Descript’s AI to automatically generate podcast timestamps and put these timestamps in the description.
Make custom thumbnails for YouTube. Super easy. Have an AI image generation tool make an interesting background. Use remove.bg for free to get sharp cut outs of guests. Put the cut outs over the interesting background in a free tool like Figma. Apparently Canva is great for this too, though I don’t use it.
Still promote each episode on social media to demonstrate you are an active voice in your niche. You’re becoming a thought leader while you are doing networking!
Level three
Do everything in level two, but cut clips of the podcast to use on social media.
I’ve posted 3-4,000 short form mobile videos since starting Nov. 1 2022. My audience is now nearing 300,000. This is exactly how I post my social videos each day. I update this article frequently. No fluff. It’s exact posting directions for how to maximize reach.
Level four
Do everything in level two. Level three, as well, if you want to edit yourself.
Here’s the thing, though. I get pitched by 3-5 video editors a day who want to edit my videos.
A lot of them charge literally $10-15 dollars per video.
Hire one or several. Have them watch your shows and put out at least one edited clip a day.
Some of my most popular videos are just edited clips from my own podcast. Like this one, below.
Start a clips channel or use these videos on your normal socials.
Have your editor post for you using my posting guide.
Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, etc will push these clips out for you, generating traffic for your repurposed networking sessions.
Once you get the hang of it, scale with more clips each day.
That’s it!
While I don’t meet new people as much as I used to, I still love having a vibrant network. It’s gotten me cofounders, meetings with top investors and builders, secretive information, invites to exclusive clubs and parties, useful advice I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else, and lifelong friends who bring me joy each day.
Had I realized I could do networking while easily building a brand, I would have done it years ago.
I was already doing virtual networking with Lunchclub, but I didn’t realize I could do it with podcasts and get all the extra benefits.
Super crazy. Everybody thinks of repurposing content. Nobody thinks of repurposing networking.
