How To Start A Podcast Agency
Catchy title, right?
And, hopefully, over the course of this new blog you’ll be able to see exactly how to start, scale and grow a podcast agency of your own — if that’s what you want to do of course!
The reason why I say ‘hopefully’ is because the task at hand is just beginning. Yes, whilst the Ultimate Podcast Group might sound like a fancy and grand brand name, it is — at this point — a start up that is less than a week old.
So why am I telling you this?
Because I am about to go on a journey and I am taking you with me!
My name is James Burtt and I am the founder of the Ultimate Podcasting Group along with my partner in crime — who also happens to be the love of my life, my mega wife, the mother of my one child (with another bun in the oven!) and fellow blogger (does this post make me an official blogger? I do hope so!) Family Unfiltered — Hayley Burtt.
I personally have 14 years of broadcast, branding and media experience in the forms of PR, marketing, sponsorship and promotions, radio presenting, radio plugging and Brand Management. I launched a podcast in 2017 (having listened to a podcast about how to launch a podcast by the brilliant John Lee Dumas) and it flew into to the top of the charts on iTunes. “Well, that was a good result”, I thought to myself. And a few other people noticed the success too and I ended up being requested to launch another show later that year that birthed a 7 figure coaching brand and a 6 figure branding agency.
Life was changed forever.
Since then I have gone on to work directly (normally as a 1–2–1 coach) with 100+ PTs, experts, influencers, actors, coaches, investors, businesses and brands to launch their own successful branded audio shows.
Podcasting has led to me giving keynote talks around the world, becoming one of the UK’s leading experts in the field and — I know this sounds a bit cheesy, but it is true — changed my life. So I am hugely passionate about the sector, a massive advocate for the power of podcasting and a big fan of great podcasts. First and foremost I am fan of the medium… and I just so happen to get to work on and in something I love everyday, which is nice!
I don’t want to turn this first post into a monologue all about me, but I thought it was important to give some context to the content that I’ll be sharing.
Pre-Covid Lockdown I was actually MD for a seminar and training business — with podcast training being a side hustle / small part of the offering we had for clients — but I ,like a lot of people, found my work situation very, very different within a matter of days.
And it was actually this shift in circumstance that made me stop (figuratively speaking; in reality I was trying to pivot a face-to-face business into a digital offering, so it was manic) assess where I was at and take a cold, hard look at what it was that I actually wanted.
Sounds dramatic, right.
Lightening strike moment with an out-of-body experience where I found a sense of crystal-clear clarity like a buddhist monk atop a mountain… nah, not quite!
But the situation did make me stop, take a breath, step back and look at what I was doing. Sure, I was climbing the ladder, but I discovered that I put the ladder up against the wrong wall! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the people I worked with, I loved the environment and I loved the mission that I was on but, ultimately, I was not building something that would — or could — become a long term asset to me and my family.
So, that was it. Decision made.
The other ‘straw that broke the camels back’ was the fact that — as one of the most experienced people in the podcasting space in the UK — I would constantly get asked if I offered editing services, podcast artwork, promotional graphics, waveform audiogram videos etc. and the answer was no.
Then it dawned on me — I was literally turning down money.
Plus, more than that, every time I would send someone to speak to another service provider I was putting my reputation on the line. And, as branding expert, I know that your brand is your reputation.
So, there you go, there’s the ‘origin story’:
2017: Launched a podcast | Launched a million pound coaching brand
2018: Launched a six figure branding agency
2019: Helped over 100+ experts, influencers, coaches, PTs etc.
2020: Launched Ultimate Podcast Group… and the rest is yet to unfold.
As it stands right now, UPG has existed for a grant total of 1 week — there’s been zero promo done, no website launched, no official social media activity… I’ve not even changed my bio on Linkedin, but we’re alive and kicking. Because of word-of-mouth we are already working on intro and outro package for one client, artwork and launch graphics for another two, we’re in talks with 3 specialist producers who will be working with for various projects and we’re in talks with a Top 150 PR agency to provide specialist services to their client base.
We’re also in the process of turning my 100+ successful podcast launches into an on-demand, online training programme ‘Ultimate Podcast Training’
so that businesses and entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes can tap into my 14 years of knowledge and create their own successful branded audio shows. One of the aims of this programme is to be able to help brands and businesses get a genuine ROI from investing their time, effort, money and energy into podcasting… I have been seeing too many ‘come and do my £4K course over 8 weeks’ which actually doesn’t show people how to launch until they commit to the “super expert premium podcaster mentor mastermind mind vault academy for just £4997” — it’s BS and I am not allowing it!
So, all in all it is exciting times.
New training course, new production agency, new clients, new offerings, new beginnings… and all to be setup and sorted before a new baby arrives!
So the purpose of this blog is going to be to document the birth and growth of this company. I’ll share the highs and the lows, the wins and the lessons, the good and the bad. If something works, I’ll happily share it in case it helps other business owners and if anything goes a bit Pete Tong -as it inevitably will- I’ll share that too, so we can all learn together — and have a laugh at my expense maybe!
Thanks for being here, now lets get cracking — there’s an empire to build.
