What the Adam Carolla Podcast Can Teach You About Marketing

Maybe most recognizable from “The Man Show,” Adam Carolla recently set up a podcast (warning: can be explicit) in 2009 when his job as a radio personality was terminated in the spring due to a station format change.  Before breaking into radio, Adam was a carpenter/boxing instructor, a blue collar worker.  Over the span of around 10 months, Adam’s podcast has become a huge hit and has inked deals with CBS Radio and created his own network.

I have listened to the podcast routinely and have honestly been surprised by the entire process of how well this podcast and network have been developed.  There are some valuable lessons that I have learned from watching this unfold that I thought I would share with you.

• Be Consistent

  One of the most impressive things about Adam’s podcast is that he has put one out every weekday since he started.  Each podcast is around an hour, and he simply doesn’t take days off.  I think this has been one of the main reasons that the podcast has been so successful.  It is always in the top podcasts on iTunes and was named one of the best podcasts of 2009, and I think a lot has to do with the unbelievable consistency of the show.

  What I Learned: Whether it be blogging, tweeting or simply updating your content, consistency is paramount.

• It Takes Money to Make Money

  Adam has mentioned back in May that hosting costs have been around $9,000 per month when he started and he didn’t even attempt to monetize the podcast until September.  Rather, he focused on building an audience and creating quality content.  Do I think that this venture will be profitable down the line?  Absolutely.

  What I Learned: Too many times people care more about upselling their customers rather than building their customer base.  Build your customers up with quality content, then worry about making money.

  

• Loyalty in Fans are Powerful

  An old co-worker of Adam’s recently came down with a brain tumor and has some pretty steep medical bills.  In order to help out, Adam decided to throw a benefit and advertise through his podcast.  Adam asked his listeners to help support the cause, and against the advice of his agent he rented a 1,200 seat venue.  His fans responded hugely and he sold out the event. With the event and the download purchases, he ended up getting Bryan $150,000 in support.

  What I Learned: Loyal fans are worth their weight in gold.  Many times building your community instead of going after sales will pay off when you need it.

• Embrace Your Community

  One thing that Adam has really done well in promoting himself and his podcast is embracing his users by attending Blog World, interviewing others in the new media field, taking Skype calls, giving interviews to bloggers, using social media to communicate with listeners and podcasting live at events.  To me it has been eye-opening to see how well he has branched out to really reach those who would enjoy his show.

  What I Learned: No matter what your background is, you should cater to the audience that will be able to help and support you.

• Go Outside of Your Comfort Level

  Sure, Adam had been on radio before, but coming from such a blue collar, non-technical background to a digital format is quite a change.  Adam isn’t the savviest user of technology and was literally swinging a hammer 20 years ago, but still went all-in on a semi-proven new media technology.

  What I Learned: Embracing different venues outside of your core proficiency can pay off.

  

• Utilize Your Strengths

  As mentioned earlier, Adam is a former construction worker and is still quite blue collar at heart.  Some of his hobbies include working on cars and rehabbing homes.  Adam has now turned his knowledge of these topics into spin-off shows.  He created a podcast about cars called “CarCast” that topped iTunes when it launched.  Even more recently, he created a podcast about home improvement called “Ace On The House.”  These different venues will provide advertisers segmented opportunities for advertisements (he has already started running ads for Microsoft Sync). 

  What I Learned: Use your knowledge to create quality niche content.  If you are really knowledgeable in specific areas, utilize that knowledge to help your audience

• Don’t Give Up

  Adam was good at radio and he knew it.  Unfortunately, his employer changed strategies and he was left without a job.  Instead of quitting and getting paid to sit on his couch until his contract ended, he did something about it, and has set himself up quite well for bringing in significant income down the road.

  What I Learned: Don’t stop when someone turns you down if you believe in what you have.

• Leverage Your Assets

  Seeing that he built up a quality audience and network and found success in getting users to listen to his podcast, Adam just launched a new podcasting network, “ACE Broadcasting.”  He just launched a new sports podcast, “Spider and the Henchman,” which jumped into the top 10 most popular podcasts in the first week:

  

  What I Learned: If you are good at something, harness that momentum and use it to build your business.

So even though Adam and his podcast might seem a bit juvenile to some, the strategies that he is using are outstanding and can be used by all of us in our marketing and business initiatives.  I have really learned quite a bit from watching the podcast grow, and hope that you can take some things away from this as well.