Podcasts are a great way to learn new information on the go, whether diving deep into an interview with a leading expert or devouring bite-sized advice that inspires action. Here’s TMSN’s list of top podcasts that cut across key aspects of running a publishing business, from sales to marketing and SEO, to business models and mindset.
These are some of our favourite podcasts relating to the business and marketing side of running a media and publishing business. We’d love to hear about the podcasts you listen to. Let us know in the comments below.
For local B2B media sales advice: Killer Media Sales
From the team at Momentum Media, the Killer Media Sales podcast covers B2B sales across digital advertising, event sponsorships, print or multi-platform solutions. Momentum Co-Founder Alex Whitlock and Director Commercial Growth Russell Stephenson break down every aspect of the sales process to help sell media more effectively and deliver the best client outcomes.
Episodes are off the cuff and fast-paced, and provide practical solutions that can be used straight away.
Top recent episodes include:
- Going over and above, discussing how to nurture good relationships with clients
- Generating momentum around a sale
- Finding your killer instinct to sell
Listen to the Killer Media Sales podcast here.
For an international perspective on publishing: Media Voices
A trio of media experts from the UK (Chris Sutcliffe, Esther Kezia Thorpe and Peter Houston) produce the Media Voices podcast, which discusses international media news and views – from journalism practices to publisher business models. Not every episode is relevant to niche magazine publishers, but those that are are well worth listening too.
Episodes generally begin with the three discussing latest media industry news or issues (not always relevant to the magazine publishing industry), before moving on to interviewing a leading figure from media and publishing businesses – often filled with nuggets of gold.
Episodes to sink your teeth into include:
- Interview with Nicholas Thompson, Editor-in-Chief, WIRED on why WIRED still publishes a print magazine, popular content, and analysis of WIRED’s paywall strategy.
- Conversation: modeling subscription success, in which Sutcliffe speaks with media industry personnel about generating direct reader revenue.
Listen to the Media Voices podcast here.
To improve your sales conversations: Ad Sales Nation Podcast
Regular TMSN contributor and media sales expert Ryan Dohrn hosts the Ad Sales Nation Podcast which focuses on media sales. Dohrn explores the issues facing media sales professionals and provides tactical advice for those looking to grow their sales.
Dohrn’s most popular episodes include:
- 6 tips to improve prospecting
- Closing techniques of media sales superstars
- Overcoming the 5 most common media sales objections.
Listen to the Ad Sales Nation Podcast here.
For case studies on growing and monetising a digital audience: The Business of Content
Hosted by US journalist Simon Owens, The Business of Content is the podcast about how publishers create, distribute, and monetise their digital content. Owens has some great interviews with US-based publishers about their business models, but tends to talk about Substack (on which he has free and paid newsletters) a lot.
Interesting episodes include:
- He’s building a media empire around the freight industry
- His running-focused newsletter has 800 paying subscribers.
Listen to The Business of Content podcast here.
For everything digital: The Digiday Podcast
From the Digiday team, The Digiday Podcast covers a wide breadth of digital marketing content for brands, agencies and publishers.
Top episodes for publishers include:
- Why Hearst’s digital-native food brand Delish is getting into print
- How Turner Sports uses new platforms and content to expand audience, advertising offerings
- How Trusted Media Brands is using first-party data beyond advertising
Listen to The Digiday Podcast here.
To celebrate print publishing around the world: The Stack
Produced by Monocle, The Stack covers print magazines “from the glossiest fashion title to the grittiest newspaper”. Episodes vary from covering an issue facing the print industry or focusing on interviews with print titles from around the world, no matter how big or small.
Many of the episodes focus on the editorial ethos and design elements of producing a print edition, offering a different perspective from other media related podcasts. This is a true print publishing podcast.
Some interesting episodes:
- Coronavirus impact on the print industry
- A celebration of print
- WePresent, ‘Facility’ and ‘What Do People Do?’
Listen to The Stack podcast here.
For tips and case studies on implementing a paywall: Paywall Podcast
The team at Zeen101 discusses paywall strategies and tactics for news and magazine publishers, interviewing many of the publishers running subscription-based services on their platform.
Listen to the Paywall Podcast here.
For bite-sized marketing advice: Marketing School
Marketing School is produced by US digital marketing mavericks Neil Patel and Eric Siu. Episodes are usually under 10 minutes in length and focus on one piece of actionable advice. One drawback: Patel and Siu talk really fast – in fact, it sounds like they speed up the audio for the podcasts to keep them short – so it takes a little extra concentration to catch the main points.
Good episodes include:
- How to effectively target on LinkedIn
- How to get exponential results with your content marketing
- How to only produce blog posts people want to read
Listen to the Marketing School podcast here.
For SEO advice: The Recipe for SEO Success Show
Produced by Australian SEO copywriting and consultant Kate Toon, this podcast covers all aspects of SEO – from link building to local SEO, to e-commerce and engagement. It features interviews with leading SEO experts, chats about google optimisation tips and techniques, the latest SEO news and updates, and real-life SEO case studies and critiques.
But the key is: Toon does it in a fun and friendly way, making what can be a tough topic easy to digest. And each episode is tagged as ‘newbie’ or ‘techy’, denoting the level of expertise required for the topic.
Toon also co-produces the popular copywriting podcast Hot Copy, which is a great listen for editorial teams.
Top Recipe for SEO Success podcast episodes include:
- Digital marketing Q&A with Rand Fishkin (newbie)
- Content marketing: basic to advanced techniques with Shannon Morrison (newbie)
- Using Google Tag Manager with Nik Cree (techie)
Listen to the Recipe for SEO Success Show podcast here.
For business mindset and strategies: HBR IdeaCast
The Harvard Business Review produces this weekly podcast, which features leading thinkers and business and management. It’s a great podcast to help frame the way you think about your business, its future, and how you manage your team.
Episodes are between 20-40 minutes, which allows enough time for the featured expert to get into the guts of their topic, while not being too hard to fit into your day.
Some recent interesting topics include:
- How to fix your hiring process
- Improve your critical thinking at work
- What great coaching looks like
- The inherent failures of long-term contracts – and how to fix them
Listen to the HBR IdeaCast here.
What are your top picks?
There are so many useful podcasts for business, marketing, management, sales – you name it. We’ve only just scraped the surface. Share your top tips for media business and publishing podcasts in the comments below.
Don’t forget the Media Sales Mastery Podcast – Alex from Killer Media Sales has featured as a guest on it many times and is a big advocate.
Thanks for letting me know Dane – I wasn’t aware of the podcast. I’ll give it a listen!