09 - Why Smart Businesses Are Going Private With Audio

In this first episode of 2026, I'm sharing why private podcasts have become one of the most effective tools for businesses that want to build trust, deepen relationships, and simplify their marketing without shouting louder on crowded platforms.

You’ll hear:

• What a private podcast actually is and how it’s different from a public one
• Why attention has become more selective and how private audio fits naturally into modern business
• How private podcasts can be used as paid offers, membership content, or powerful lead magnets
• Where business owners often go wrong with private audio and how to think about it more strategically

If you’ve been curious about private podcasts, or you’re feeling the pressure to do more on public platforms, this episode will help you think differently about how you show up.

Links mentioned in the episode, including ways to work with Mike, can be found in the show notes.

Thanks for listening to the Making Digital Real podcast.

If something in this episode sparked a question, an idea, or a lightbulb moment, I’d love to hear from you. You can send me a voice message directly and I may even feature it in a future episode.

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🌍 Explore more of my work
If you’d like help with private podcasts, LinkedIn strategy, MemberVault, or simplifying your digital marketing, you’ll find everything on my website, including ways to work with me.

All the relevant links are below.

Thanks again for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.

Transcript

0:01

Hey everybody, it's Mike. Welcome back to the Making Digital Real podcast. So, if you've listened before, thank you for sticking with me. And if you're new here, this podcast is where we talk about everything digital marketing. And in particular, private podcasts, podcasting, Member Vault and LinkedIn, my superpowers. And remember, this is a podcast where we talk about digital marketing in a way that is practical, grounded, unscripted and is really useful for business owners like you. So, we have been quiet for a while here. And it's not because the work has stopped, but it is because most of it has moved behind the scenes. I have been so busy in 2025 with client projects, private bills and loads of hands-on work. So, now feels the right time to bring this podcast back with a much clearer intention. Moving forward, these episodes are going to be short. They're going to be focused and just proper down to earth. So, we're going to be covering so many topics every single week in 2026. No long tutorials. It's just going to be clear thinking to help you make better choices in your business. And today, we're going to start with one of my favourite topics, a quick reintroduction to the power of private podcasts. So, over the last couple of years, public platforms have become louder and more crowded. You know, everybody's posting. We've got so much pollution on all of these social media channels. There's logins everywhere. People are getting screen fatigue. They're tired of having to log into platforms, watch videos. Everybody's trying to be seen. Whilst at the same time, attention has become more selective in my opinion. So, people are still wanting content, but they do want it to feel more relevant and they want it to feel intentional. They also want to feel like it was created for them and not for the algorithm. So, this is where I think private audio really comes into its own. And I think it is one of the most powerful marketing tools that we have in today's crowded marketplace and, you know, screen fatigue filled world. So, the private podcast audio content, it's shared deliberately with a specific group of people. Now, that could be clients, your members in a membership, subscribers, leads, or even students. And sometimes it's paid for. You can also have it free. But the main thing is that there's always a clear purpose behind it. And what I see smart business owners doing, especially the ones I've worked with over the last few years, is they're using private podcasts to, how do I put it? Deepen relationships rather than chasing the reach. They're choosing fewer people. You know, those people are listening more closely. And they're doing this instead of trying to speak to everybody all at once. And I think when I've been having conversations over the last year or two, one of the biggest misunderstandings about private podcasts that I'm seeing is the feedback is, well, it's all about hiding content. But it's not. It's not about that at all. It's actually about changing the context. So, when someone chooses to listen to something that's private, you know, they are showing up differently. They are listening for longer. They're definitely more present. And audio becomes part of their day rather than something competing for attention on a screen. So, that shift alone changes the value of what you're sharing. I've worked with so many people over the last few years, and I have seen private podcasts used brilliantly for things like onboarding new clients, nurturing leads. You know, it's a great way to build your email database. Nurturing relationships with your email database is something that I tell everybody to do. And they're also building a deeper layer of trust over time, right? And they work really well as part of memberships or paid offers. We're going to be talking loads about MemberVault this year. You know, as a MemberVault strategist, this is something that I think works really powerful. So, a lot of people have, you know, VIP clubs or memberships. And if you can have a private podcast feed inside that membership, it just is an amazing added feature to your offering. Because now you're not just showing up in, you know, in the MemberVault platform through a login, but you're showing up in Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever it is your audience listen to their audio content. They're incredible lead magnets. Placing them on your LinkedIn profile and sharing them across your social media or using them as a quiet entry point into your world. Because when somebody opts into a private podcast, they're basically saying, yep, I'm interested. I'd love to know more. And, you know, they want more than just surface level content. It's a win-win. They get great content from you. They feel like they've already started working with you when they're listening to your content. So you've already broken through that first barrier. It's such a powerful place to start a relationship. Another reason why private audio works well is the trust factor. So audio is personal. You are literally in someone's ears. There's no scrolling. If someone presses play, they are literally giving you their time. And for service based businesses, you know, I work with loads of consultants, coaches, experts, loads of those types of businesses. Private podcasts support that absolutely amazingly. They allow you to explain your thinking properly without trying to squeeze it into a social media post or a soundbite. And they let you do that without giving everything away, because this is where people often go wrong, in my opinion. They treat private podcasts like hidden public podcasts. They're trying to overload them with content, turning them into full step by step tutorials. It's not about trying to give people everything because then people wonder why it feels exhausting or, you know, it's almost like blurring the line between free and paid work. So in my opinion, private audio works best when it shows people how to think, not how to replicate you. Clarity, not completeness. I also think the strongest private podcasts leave space. They help people understand the problem. They see what is possible and recognise when support would make a difference. OK. Now, over the years, when I've been building private podcasts for clients and for my own work, it's all about intention. You know, why does this exist? Who is it for? What should someone feel clearer about after they've listened to the episode? Because when those answers are solid, the format, the audio, the private podcast does loads of the heavy lifting for you. So that's why this year you'll hear me talking more about private podcasts as a genuinely useful tool for businesses. You know, business owners that want to simplify their marketing, not have to spend hours using video. Audio, remember, is much easier to create rather than video content. Deepen relationships and building trust without shouting louder. So that's where I'm going to leave it for today, folks. So coming soon, I'll be sharing more thinking around private audio. Remember, we're also going to be going straight into LinkedIn strategies. The member vaults, the way that we can use member vaults as well. Remember, that's going to be a huge topic for me this year. So remember, if private podcasts are something you're curious about and if you want help implementing them properly, or if you want help with the editing, the strategy, whatever it is that you need, you know, feel free to use me for any of the heavy lifting. This is very much part of what I do. So thank you for listening. Welcome back to the Making Digital Real podcast. Click some links in my show notes. There's a link there to leave me a voice message very easily. There's also a link for my power hours and also my buy me a coffee link. If I've helped you in any business this year, please feel free to support the show with my buy me a coffee link. I really do appreciate it. So I'll see you in the next episode. Cheers, everyone.