Also available in: Deutsch (German)

Podcasts have undergone an astonishing development in recent years. They have established themselves as the media genre par excellence, which is consumed on a massive scale. In Germany alone, over 20 million people now listen to podcasts regularly. They also reach their listeners much more intensively than other media genres: on the one hand, they are consumed for longer than videos, for example. Media consumption is independent of time and place, be it in the car, during housework or leisure activities. This creates a particularly strong bond with listeners. It creates an intimacy and intensity that a text can never achieve online or offline. Visual media, on the other hand, are never consumed as persistently in comparison. 100 podcast listeners correspond to a lecture in front of 100 people. The impact on listeners is incredibly more effective than with any other type of media. In addition, there is no wastage. Logically, all listeners are fluent in the language used by the podcast.

Why use it as a marketing tool?

Zahlreiche Branchen und Publishers generell haben Bedeutung und Reichweite von Podcasts längst erkannt. Das deutsche AdultBiz gehört nicht dazu. Dabei ist man gerade hier ständig dabei, komplett neue Interessenten heranzuziehen, weil diese logischerweise das größte Umsatzpotential mitbringen. Zudem erschließen sich über den Podcast Zielgruppen, die man auf andere Art und Weise praktisch nicht erreichen kann. Über klassische Social Media Kanäle wird es immer schwieriger, neue Kunden heranzuziehen.

Neglected by the German adult industry

The USA is – once again – much further ahead in this respect. On the one hand, the dramatic increase in importance of the new media genre took place years ago. As a result, many industries, including the adult biz, recognized the opportunities it offered. As a result, there have been regular podcasts from various industry insiders or from the providers themselves for years. Some examples (links at the end of the article): YNOT produces a B2B podcast with the resounding name “Sell Porn or die trying”, which has a high attention value. PornHub distributes its audio messages with the domain name in the title. In “Danglin’ after Dark with Dick Dangle”, the author of the same name disseminates industry news that has won multiple awards. “Girls on Porn” sheds light on the industry from the point of view of the actresses. The list of US podcasts could be continued almost indefinitely. One notable exception from Germany is MyDirtyHobby’s “Dirty Talk”, a podcast “with the amateurs”, which is currently only published around once a month.

Numerous American protagonists recognized the importance of podcasts years ago. Sasha Grey, Holly Randall and Asa Akira have been producing their own shows for years, some of which are of course very much about the industry and ultimately also about self-promotion. But there is also a lot of reading and listening material about personal matters, careers etc. etc. It is precisely these ingredients that make a podcast interesting for listeners and thus attract potential new customers. The intensity with which she and many others in the industry run their podcasts clearly demonstrates how important this communication and marketing tool has become.

Hardly any censorship interventions to date

Anyone who listens to the podcasts of our US colleagues is often amazed at the frank language. Although there are no orgasmic moans, there are expressions that could be classified as “FSK18”. The major podcast providers then also label such contributions or broadcasts as “offensive”, but there are no further consequences such as age verification etc.

What exactly is a podcast? By definition, a podcast is “a type of online audio content that is recorded and published. It is essentially a series of audio episodes on a specific topic that are regularly updated.” In other words, it is a radio program that is not broadcast live, but is available on the Internet. A broadcasting license or similar is not necessary; anyone can go on the air with a podcast. The name goes back to Apple’s iPod, mixed with the second half of the word “broadcast”.

Regularity as an important criterion

Not all podcasts are run on a permanent basis, quite the opposite: more than half of them don’t even make it to the 10th episode. Producers often underestimate the actual effort involved. However, those who produce sustainably can gradually expand their reach with constant growth. As a general rule, all really successful podcasts produce a new episode (at least) once a week. With longer release intervals, the bond with listeners is simply too weak to last.

Es ist ein Marathon, kein Sprint

This admittedly somewhat hackneyed truism (unfortunately) also applies to podcasts. As in many areas, success comes gradually. However, if you pick up on an exciting topic for which there are not yet too many competitors, you can certainly achieve faster growth. The same applies if you buy advertising accordingly. Meanwhile, some podcasts are even being advertised on a large scale on the major TV channels. This is impressive proof of the importance of the podcast medium.

Structure and distribution of a podcast

Podcasts always follow a certain pattern. As described, the weekly rhythm is the frequency that is expected and also offers potential for success. The individual episodes are summarized in a “show” in the style of radio, also called a “channel” on some platforms. You must first create this program on the various platforms or have it created (see below). In addition to a description, a square photo is always included. Once this step has been completed, you don’t just have to upload an audio file every week. This includes the so-called “show notes”. This is essentially a description of the respective episode, in which the most important content and benefits for listeners must be summarized. Important: in contrast to some social media, links are permitted here – even multiple links for detailed descriptions. This makes it very easy to integrate any advertising partners or your own additional content. SEO should also be considered when formulating the description, as podcasts are not only found via the apps but also via Google. However, direct links to FSK18 offers should be avoided, at least as long as no AVS is activated. Nevertheless, there are plenty of opportunities to promote industry-relevant content via affiliate programs or soft content, for example.

Content is king – even with podcasts

What content can be distributed in this way? First of all, a podcast should not be confused with advertising. If you focus too directly on image cultivation and product placement, you will hardly gain any subscribers. As is so often the case, less is more. Basically, the content should always offer added value for the listener. There are many ways in which you can offer valuable information to those interested in cam shows, videos or other content. On the one hand, background information about actresses is of course always of particular interest to end consumers. The same applies to productions or perhaps also special

Advertising opportunities in the podcast

The most common advertising format in podcasts is probably product placement. But be careful: the transitions to surreptitious advertising are fluid. Advertising must also be labeled as such in podcasts. Anyone who “forgets” to do this risks expensive warnings or bans from the platforms, especially in Germany. But: recognizable commercials are possible at any time, in a similar form to radio. In podcasts, they don’t come in one go, but in the form of short inserts at the beginning, during or at the end of the episode. Instead of in-house advertising, third-party advertising can of course always be used, turning the podcast into a source of income. In addition, some platforms also offer premiums per call-up. However, these are usually only fractions of a cent and only become noticeable with very successful podcasts.

Present on all platforms

Speaking of platforms: The relevant suspects are probably well known here. Until about two years ago, Apple was the top dog here. After all, the podcast app is pre-installed on all Apple devices and offers a completely free service. But you can also listen to Apple podcasts for free without an iPhone & Co. However, a direct link is then required This can also be found via Google, but the convenience of an app is then missing. Spotify works in a similar way, although its app is of course also available for Android. If you want to enjoy the convenience of the app, you have to pay a monthly fee. Nevertheless, Spotify has now overtaken Apple in terms of listener numbers. Anyone with Amazon Prime and an Alexa can also listen to podcasts without a subscription. And there are many other platforms. Deezer, Soundcloud and Acast are other examples. More and more podcasters are now also distributing their content via YouTube. This raises the question: on which platforms should I make my podcast available? The answer is as simple as it is labor-intensive: preferably on all of them. Or at least on the most important ones.

Podcast hosters as a springboard

Of course, once a podcast episode has been completed, you can enter it manually on all the platforms. This is at least as time-consuming as it sounds. Fortunately, there are podcast hosters that take this routine off your hands. In this case, you upload the podcast together with all the show notes and any photos once and the hoster takes care of distributing it on the various platforms. As some hosters have contracts with the platforms, in some cases you don’t even have to be registered there. You can also run a blog to accompany and promote the podcast. An overview of the hosters and even more information about successfully creating podcasts awaits you in the continuation of this article.

Links to the mentioned examples:

• Sell Porn or die trying (YNOT)
• The Pornhub Podcast
• Girls on Porn
• Danglin´ after Dark with Dick Dangle
• Dirty Talk von MDH

Part 2 of this article awaits you:

• Overview of suitable podcast hosters
• Make or buy ? How podcast agencies work
• Useful hardware
• Necessary software
• Practical examples

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