Podcast creators of all sizes and at every level of their podcasting journey joined us, alongside AdsWizz, during Podcast Movement 2024 for an epic meetup.

It was an afternoon full of networking and workshops led by seasoned pros—all built to help multicultural creators accelerate their podcast growth. 

Keep reading for the tips you need to know on topics ranging from: 

• Developing a podcast business
• Production pointers
• Building your brand  
• Making money with programmatic advertising
• Everything content
  
  

Fireside Chat

The meetup began with a chat between Justine Benjamin, Sr. Director of Global Marketing, AdsWizz, and Jordi Oliveres, Co-Founder, Partner, and General Manager of Pitaya Entertainment, a podcasting company fully dedicated to producing podcasts for Latinos in the U.S. 

The meetup focused on the importance of representing underserved communities, and Oliveres explained how that led to the creation of Pitaya Entertainment: “There was such a lack of podcast consumption in the Latino community, and I wanted to create content that’s relevant to the community.” 

His network attracted Spanish listeners who didn’t exist before with podcasts that are among the most streamed weekly Spanish-language podcasts in the U.S., like Me Lo Diho Adela, a daily morning show hosted by Mexico’s best-known female journalist, Adela Micha. 

Jordi also touched on lessons he’s learned along the way:

• For creators, it’s vital to stick to your goals and passions. For Oliveres, it was about giving a voice to all different types of Latinos. 
• He did so by creating content that spoke to the community and giving the Latino community a platform for every unique voice. 

What can podcast consumers expect in the future? New voices and new shows from communities that were once overlooked.

Speed Session Workshops

Building Your Brand (PR & Marketing) 

Krystle Water, CEO of Pilot Podcasts, hosted a session on using data and best practices to increase podcast awareness and build a successful brand.

Quick tips you can incorporate now: 

• Know your audience inside and out by checking your podcasting platform to see how your listeners tune in (Apple? Spotify? Pandora?) and use that to your advantage.
• Not sure who your audience is? Simplecast Professional can help with that—we offer a wide range of analytics that allows you to gain access to your audiences like never before, like:
  

Entrepreneurship & Community

Talib Jasir, founder and CEO of Afros & Audio Podcast Festival, the first conference for and by Black indie podcasters and audio pros, led a session on growing and nurturing an engaged audience through networking, cross-promotion, collaborations, and more.

The main takeaway: “Monetization comes easier with relationships.”

If you’re like most indie podcasters, and you need resources (like editing, production, etc.), make sure they are accessible to you. How? 

Develop relationships within the podcasting community for ongoing resources and support. 

Looking to make monetization even easier? Check out AdsWizz Podcast Marketplace via Simplecast Professional, which is an intuitive way to connect savvy buyers to our podcast content. 

Content Creation & Production

This session was hosted by a duo: Jenn Trepeck, Host of Salad with a Side of Fries, and our very own Luke Brawner, Creator of the podcast network Odd Parliament. In their session, they shared how you can bring ideas to life through content development strategy, workflow techniques, and gear.

A few tips: 

• Repurpose content! Many listeners won’t remember an episode they listened to weeks ago, so consider writing blogs about the content, as well.
• Embed audio in media. (It’s never been easier with the recent Headliner x Simplecast integration!)

Monetization 101 & 201

Ah, monetization. It's the word on the tip of every podcaster's tongue. In two sessions, we covered this popular topic with Traci DeForge, Founder and CEO of Produce Your Podcast, hosting Monetization 101, and AdsWizz team members hosting Monetization 201. 

Each session focused on the fundamentals of monetization, beginning with an introduction to host-read and programmatic advertising (it’s not as tricky as you think) to monetization options available for small-to-medium podcasters. 

Keep the Conversation Going

Want to learn more about podcast trends, innovation, and monetization? Check out our guide, From Passion to Profit: Your Guide to Simplecast Professional, which walks you through all the high-level features Simplecast Professional offers.