Planning for 2026?
Putting together your plans for the new year? Think about the following:
Artificial Intelligence - Despite all its schlock, AI can actually help accelerate podcast creation, ramp up social media output, and help lower production costs. As you think about next year, YouTube is planning AI-related enhancements. YouTube Studio will feature an AI assistant to help analyze your data. Look for A/B testing for titles and thumbnails. And as we watch more podcasts on Smart TVs, your standard video can get upgraded to a higher definition thanks to AI.
Economy - Do you know where the U.S. economy is going to be next year? What? You don’t? Don’t worry. Given all the tariff uncertainty, you belong to a large club that includes the Federal Reserve. Will consumers hang in there and keep the economy moving? Will they keep entering promo codes for their favorite podcast sponsors? So many questions. So few answers. It doesn’t help we’re not getting key economic data due to the government shutdown. So do your best to follow the economic headlines.
Staffing - You’ve had the same team around you for years now. Are they really getting the job done? Are they exceeding expectations? Or merely meeting them? If you run a podcast network, the industry is shifting. Once upon a time, a network that only offered ad sales could succeed and survive. But those days may be numbered because we’re now living in a video-driven creator economy where you must think, act and plan like a content creator. That kid on YouTube with four million subscribers is now your competition. And he’s kicking butt.
Hosting and Publishing - I’m really impressed by all the different hosting services out there today. I work with lots of different clients so I see a range of hosting programs. Megaphone, the once mighty king, now has excellent competition from Libsyn, Transistor and Captivate. And if you want to stream, SoundStack. Check the pricing. Many say they are “free” but read the fine print. If you decide to switch hosting services, now is the time to do so with the holidays around the corner.
Revenue and Video - Have you figured out how to incorporate video into your ad sales strategy? Still selling based on the simulcasting model? Still hoping to strike AdSense gold on YouTube? There are more than a half-dozen ways to monetize your video beyond AdSense (which I share with my clients) so think outside the box when it comes to video.