Starting a Podcast in Ghana (Joy FM Geek Squad Interview) Part 2 - How to monetise your Podcast

[00:00:00] Ultimate Guide, I've had with me in the studio Joseph Inti, the host of Sincerely Accra Podcast, and Adrian Daniels, the host and producer of Sound of Accra. And just before we went on the break,

[00:00:14] we were going to tackle how one can grow his or her podcast. I'll start with you Joseph. Definitely focus on community. How we did it was to be very intentional about social media. Okay, so we started with a Twitter account. We didn't have Instagram, just Twitter.

[00:00:34] Mainly because that's where conversations happen here. And most of our, when we're doing our Voxpops, when we're going to the streets and asking some of these questions, you know, they would generate conversation on Twitter. So the salary for fresh graduates like this

[00:00:47] will cost a lot of conversation on Twitter. And you just engage every since when you put an episode out, even if it's five people that comments, we engage every single one of them.

[00:00:56] Because when people feel seen, they're happy and they'll come back. So now that we have more platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, no matter the comments, we make sure that we reply to each one of them. And that's how you grow community. And another thing that we started

[00:01:12] to do was also give shout outs. So maybe in a week, if like five people followed our accounts, we'll pick three of them and say, hey, shout out to you, Britroom, you followed us this

[00:01:22] week. Thank you. And it spurs people because I listened to a lot of podcasts and I know what it feels like if I send something in and they actually read it, I feel good about it. So you

[00:01:32] should let your listeners feel good. And that's how you grow it. And also, like I said, when we do live events and things like that, people come, you know, they're able to meet and engage,

[00:01:40] they feel good about it. And they feel like a part of something that they don't want to leave behind. And so then you're growing your community every time. Yeah. That's one way we can grow our community. I'm going to come to you, AGL,

[00:01:53] you mentioned in your submission earlier that you can make money. So how can someone monetize the podcast? Here there's many ways. So the traditional is through advertising. So what will happen is the traditional way is, for example, let's say you get a thousand audio and downloads

[00:02:08] on your podcast, typically that will work out maybe $20, $30. So right at straight away, you're thinking, ah, do I have to work that hard and just get $20, $30? You know, from all my hard

[00:02:19] work. Because when you first start, you may not get that amount of listenership to maybe the end of the year or two depending on how popular the podcast is. So what you want to do is you want

[00:02:29] to look at things like live shows and build a community like what Joseph has since he across from the fantastic job, amazingly live shows, you know, they've been charged with tickets, people are coming.

[00:02:39] You buy MTA, MTA everywhere you go. This evening we've been having a conversation on how to start a podcast in Ghana, your ultimate guide and I've had with me in the studio, Joseph in THS,

[00:02:52] the host of Sincerely Acra podcast. And I also have with me, Adrian Daniels. And so far we've been sharing about how you can start a podcast and also what are some of the ideas should

[00:03:06] you even decide to start today? Our phone lines are activated. You can call us on the number 0302 216 541, 0302 216 541. Let us hear from you if you have any experience to share with us. If you

[00:03:23] have any question about starting your podcast, you can just reach out and let us know. You can also send us a message on the WhatsApp number 055 111 197 055 1111 997. Have you been listening to podcasts? How beneficial have they been to you? Let us hear from you. So the last person who

[00:03:47] said to me, she spoke about the fact that he can listen to a podcast literally anywhere, not like the old school radio. Why he really said that? So I just want to find out. I mean,

[00:03:57] can we just talk about this? Why should someone spend time listening to podcasts when they can just listen to a radio like right now? Listen to a radio. Why should someone spend time listening

[00:04:06] to a podcast? How different I mean, at least if you can just touch on it. Okay. Well, I think one of the things that makes podcasts easy is because you know, like we said, it's not live

[00:04:22] and when you find that you're idle and you don't have anything to do, it can well listen to it. But if you are listening to a radio show, you have to know what time it is. If you have no

[00:04:30] questions from working your favorite shows that are six, you haven't sat in the car yet and you miss all of these things. You can listen to them. Yeah. Yeah. But you see the inconvenient bit of

[00:04:39] it is that maybe you are not finished doing what you're supposed to do. So now you're listening at the same time. Divide attention. But the podcast is there for you anytime. If I wait a weekend, then you do omnibus. Everything. Omnibus like the super person.

[00:04:54] Okay. Yes, in the end. What are some differences between the two? I mean, does the faster any shade some but still the two? I think both of them have the advantages and disadvantages, the radio and the podcast. So what are some of the things that

[00:05:08] you can share with us so far? Yeah, I think with radio and I used to do radio when I was in the best. So with radio normally you have of course people calling in, you know,

[00:05:17] a radio DJ where people inclined to play music or podcasts, it's more about the number of people calling in or the music is more about the conversation on what's going on. So what's quite interesting now is that you do have some podcast where

[00:05:34] people are kind of going back to how radio is. So you have live podcasts, a lot of live podcasts that will stream on YouTube or Facebook or whatever it is. And then you also have

[00:05:43] some people calling in, you know, which is quite funny. So, you know, I think podcasts, they can take the best from radio and then the add its to what the platform does. But the thing when podcasting is that just what Joseph says, you can listen to it anytime

[00:05:56] in a place where there's no restriction in terms of when you can consume the content you can do that. You're going to spend, we live in such busy lives right now, you know, we're going here, we're doing this, we're doing that, running for the train,

[00:06:07] running for the bus whatever it is. So podcasts gives you the opportunity to consume the content in your own leisure. I like what you just said. And I think it's one of the things,

[00:06:18] one of the reasons why we keep saying we stream live on Facebook and then on YouTube because like Joseph, you mentioned someone probably is in a tight corner right now. We're not able to listen to the program live because it's on radio. But then even for Joy FM,

[00:06:31] for instance, we have podcasts where we just put these audio files when we are done on the radio and then on YouTube and then on Facebook. So yeah, because of that, Adrian, you know, we know that definitely even though they may have advantages and

[00:06:46] disadvantages, it would just be good to make use of it. Quite a lot. Definitely we would have to do that. So this year, we want our listeners to explore more relating topics to take. So let's say a listener is just thinking about starting a podcast,

[00:07:02] right? What are some of the things they can consider? I know we've taken them through the application, but what are some of the things that they can consider? I'll start with you. How you started yours in your bedroom. What's the long-term experience?

[00:07:16] I think the important thing about doing content, any form of content is consistency. Especially if you want to grow your community is consistency. So I like that consistency. Because it's very easy to start and then somewhere along the line,

[00:07:34] you stop. And I think people that consume stuff that they don't really like, should be able to rely on you. You know how maybe I have a favorite TV show that you know they are going on break, they'll come back. People should be able to rely on you

[00:07:47] like that because you become something that they enjoy. So if they're inconsistent with putting your stuff out, then it's like, okay, this is what they're not serious. So definitely when you're starting, you need to think about how often do you want to release?

[00:07:58] So generally, our programs are every two weeks because we know that the work it takes to bring out an episode is a lot. And we also have like nine to five and stuff. So from the beginning,

[00:08:08] 2017, we knew we could not be a weekly podcast. So you have to decide what is your frequency? Okay. And then when do you plan to release it? Is it Monday? Is it Tuesday? Is it Wednesday?

[00:08:20] And why is it that you are picking those days? We release on Mondays because Mondays are generally stressful. Everybody hates Mondays. So we want to be that light on Monday. We value long day, listen to it and then oh, you laugh.

[00:08:33] You know, so you're thinking about the release day of frequency. Also, you need to think about your promotional plan. Right now, I think things are so easy. Now when we started, there was nothing

[00:08:42] like WhatsApp status stories and things that now you can do that so easily and even add links in WhatsApp. You imagine how easy it is. It's all like a discovery. So you need to think

[00:08:51] about all of this before you actually hit the ground running. And like I said, your POV. And then honestly, it's not just about hit and record. It helps, you know, just like you're

[00:09:02] showing, you have segments, right? It helps to break it up. If I'm going to be listening to you for 30 minutes or 45 minutes, what is the show going to be made up of? Is it just

[00:09:12] you talking or you want to break it up with segments? And then you also have to think of how you can grow your community. You know, what are some of the things you can do?

[00:09:19] Is it by giving shout outs on the episode? Is it by following people back on your social media? So these are some of the things you need to think about. Now that I was saying that if you

[00:09:28] are really serious about it, then you are going to be doing a lot of thinking, but if it's just for fun, yeah, you can start a podcast. Anything to add to that, Enye, I think one thing I think

[00:09:38] is the consistency. For someone who wants to start what's the things they can consider in addition to this. Absolutely. Consistency is definitely key. I think the status, most people that start to, 90% of people that start podcasts can't get past episode

[00:09:54] and get seven, 90% of people can't get past episode seven. So if you can get past episode seven and you're done well, why are they about? So consistency is definitely key. I also

[00:10:07] question why is it that you want to start a podcast? Is it just for fun, for hobby? Great. Cool. Then you don't need to worry too much because there's so many moving parts

[00:10:15] as Joseph has said. If you want to maybe create money out of it, you want to launch a community, maybe you want to transform the mindset of people in the Aetana, whatever it is,

[00:10:26] what is the reason why? Because that's going to determine how long you're going to be going for. Sound of the car, I launched this because I wanted to promote global guiding excellence to the world. I noticed that there was no platform, dedicated platform that showcases

[00:10:39] a guy named Entrepreneur's Found, that's created worldwide in Ghana here and across the world. I realized this is what I wanted to do. This was my main focus, but then on the back of

[00:10:47] that, you get other benefits like you get buy-to-to-advice, you get money, you get partners, you get whatever. So why is it that you want to do the podcast? That will determine how long you can

[00:10:58] stay in it. And also we also need to think about what type of format is the podcast going to be. So are you thinking of group podcasts? Are you like multiple people in a podcast?

[00:11:07] So if that's a group podcast, you need to think about okay, how often can we meet and record because that would then restrict how often you can release an episode. If you're solo, if you're just one by yourself, then you can do it as quickly and as possible.

[00:11:22] This day and age, a lot more podcasts are planned out episodes more frequently because the benefit is more discoverability, they can make more money, be it from the ads, ad sense, all this kind of stuff. And then also you also want to think about things like

[00:11:39] what is your concept? What type of podcast is it going to be? Is it fitness? Is it running? What kind of podcast is it? You can be as niche as I want to make a podcast just about Kenke and

[00:11:50] just talk about just Kenke. So what is it that you're going to talk about, how frequently is it going to be? What type of format? I mean there's so many different things we can go into. The different things that we can consider. Consistency is key.

[00:12:04] You'd have to check and choose a day of the week. And I think one thing that I'm just making from what you're saying is why you are even starting the podcast in the first place. And there are times I have conversations with some youth and they tell me,

[00:12:15] oh, I want to do something related to tech, I want to do something related to idea. I ask them, why? What is your why? Because it's good because oh, there are a lot of jobs there now or oh, I want to make money. It's the same thing that

[00:12:27] we're talking about now, podcast, right? Because it's a thing now I want to start it. And from what you said, the statistics there, if you can't make a pass the seventh episode,

[00:12:36] then that's it for you. At least if you won't pass that, then why idea pass? That's what India is telling you. This has been big squad. We have been having a conversation on starting a podcast

[00:12:47] in Ghana and so far I've had with me in the studio Joseph Inti, the host of Sincerely Accra podcast and Adrian Daniels, the post and producer of Sound of Accra podcast. I have a message from

[00:13:03] one of our listeners and he's saying that we should encourage you to use AI, explore using AI when you want to start a podcast. AI has really come for us now. And so what? Today you're

[00:13:15] really doing the show with us. Thank you so much for sending through your message. Okay, so I think we have another question. Just a quick message for Geeksqart, great insights guys from AM, okay? Encourage to start my podcast and get episode seven. Definitely you have to do that.

[00:13:38] I definitely you have to do that. It's one of the things that personally I've thought about between YouTube and podcasts. Which one should I do? But I mean without a conversation it's very loose like podcast is winning. Who knows? Maybe we'll have another show talking about starting

[00:13:53] YouTube. My guest can also convince me but it all starts with the why and then different things that we're talking about that needs to be considered. We will be coming your way shortly with the quick tech fixes. We've been talking about starting a podcast

[00:14:15] in Ghana. Your ultimate guide and I've had with me in the studio Joseph Inti, the host of Sincerely Akara and Adrian Daniels, the host and producer of Sound of Akara. Some of the things

[00:14:27] that they have shared with us that we would need to consider when creating a podcast or start a podcast is to check the frequency. How often do you want to release? You have to choose

[00:14:38] a day of the week and you have to check why you're choosing that day of the week. You also have to check how you're going to be promoting your podcast. You may have to bring them into segments. Consistency is very important. You know just post one

[00:14:51] today and then post one. You start first five weeks you are posting and then you go and wait for like a month no. But listeners will not be happy with you when you're doing that.

[00:15:01] Another type of format is also necessary. You need to just check and know if you're going to be doing it in a group. You are just doing it as a solo. You'll have to check that all

[00:15:10] that plays a role in doing the podcast and starting the podcast. So can we just talk a bit about closing a podcast in Ghana? Is there anything peculiar that you may have faced in your journey?

[00:15:25] I'll start with you Joseph before I get to. Well definitely, like I said when we started a lot of people didn't know what podcasts were so just getting people to listen

[00:15:36] and you know what is a podcast then I'm like oh I have a podcast. What is a podcast? When you tell them okay so is it like read you know just that whole getting people to understand what it was

[00:15:45] and then of course you know in doing this you are putting a lot of time and resource so you also want to kind of get something out of it and like Edwin said you make money through ads

[00:15:56] because it's like you are building a listenership and so in France want to connect with people who are listening to your podcast they can do just like you guys would get you could do an LPM

[00:16:07] or you can have us put adverts on there and in the beginning it was very hard convincing brands to do that because like what's a podcast? We don't know you know what I mean they are used to

[00:16:19] traditional media so it's been an uphill battle getting brands to like easily like work with podcasts and also do that but it's changing slightly. It's not where it's supposed to be so I'll say definitely the challenge has been you know mobilizing fans to do certain things because

[00:16:36] we've been in the game for seven years this year and every year we try to do something different and exciting. We started doing a live show last year so we do a live show once a month

[00:16:45] and to do that is money you know and yeah you can always be taking for your own personal you know so just getting brands to work with and people to fully understand what's the opportunities with podcasts was very difficult but you know it's getting there slowly.

[00:17:03] We can see that anything from you Adrian, what are the issues you've had as a podcasting guy now? Oh Domsoul. I was recording in January 2022 and 2023 sorry and yeah experience a lot of Domsoul when

[00:17:21] recording with some guests because what's popular now is the in-person podcast. You can do remote you can do online and all this stuff audio but the in-person podcasts are so important so when you're in person podcasts you have to think about lighting cameras action

[00:17:35] and all this stuff but yeah Domsoul has been a problem as for sure but also you have to consider also like you're putting money into this right so you know here in Ghana you know

[00:17:45] higher camera equipment typically to comment of you're higher camera man and they said oh they're going to drop the camera at 90 and it doesn't come till 2 p.m so you have guests who are waiting to

[00:17:57] come on the show and then you have to go and get your stuff done. Like at one time I don't know where we picked this up right? I need to be fair, I didn't want to say you know the transportation system in Ghana allows for

[00:18:07] anything to happen like you can do. But you set off early just in. You know but you can set off early and then the road is blocked and I have to be here's another road. It's a set off early and the transportation style is best.

[00:18:16] Yeah I just feel like sometimes you need to consider we don't live where we have like fast trains where you know that if you get on at this time you get on this time. I used to watch in the Galavan time. I'm just saying there are no ancestors.

[00:18:27] Sometimes honestly I've set off early for one before and in the road I would have given you the block dip for a few rounds. For a foot run for about 30. That surely does happen interesting. Okay we'll be talking about how one can go his or her podcast.

[00:18:44] We'll be talking about that right after taking what's happening for the quick tech fixes.