Compiled by Trent Thomas and Tess Connery
12 years and going strong: Podcast Pioneer Tim Reid on the Small Business Big Marketing Show
Tim Reid is one of Australian podcasting’s earliest adopters after hosting the Small Business Big Marketing Show for over 12 years. He has spent the last two years producing his show for the LiSTNR network.
Podcast Week’s Trent Thomas caught up with Reid to talk about his journey as a pioneer of the medium and how his program is positioned both now and into the future.
“I’ve been going for 12 years and was probably one of the first business and marketing podcasts in Australia,” said Reid. “Back then no one really knew what they were, including me. And now everyone would appear to know. I call myself, a bespoke podcast, because I operate by myself as a one-man show. Now we’re seeing all the radio networks, celebs, public figures, jumping on the bandwagon in the last 12 months, and probably making it harder for the individual podcaster to get a leg up because it’s just a noisy marketplace.”
Check out Small Business Big Marketing’s website here.
When asked how he has maintained a passion for his show after 12 years, Reid said that you need to have deep interest and curiosity in your subject matter to do a podcast of this nature.
“I have a deep passion for business owners, particularly small business owners, I have a lot of empathy for their struggles with marketing. So, the reason I put my show together is to shine a bright light on marketing for those business owners who find it a bit frustrating. So that keeps me going.”
The Small Business Big Marketing Show has episodes in and around the 60-minute mark, when asked how he determines the best length for an episode he said an episode should be “as long as it needs to be a not a second more”.
“People go, ‘you know, we’ve got short attention spans, so they should be shorter’ and then someone else says ‘the average commute is 30 minutes’ well, that depends where you live. Then you’ve got the most popular podcast in the world with an average duration of two and a half to three hours with Joe Rogan.”
After 10 years of going it alone, two years ago Reid joined LiSTNR (PodcastOne Australia at the time). When asked how life was at the big network, Reid described it as both “good and frustrating”.
“Being part of the LiSTNR network means that I’m surrounded by great resources. I have a producer and editor, access to 90 studios around the country. Because I live in regional Australia, it’s really nice to be able to access all that. Then they represent you in the marketplace to get sponsors and advertisers. That’s the bit that’s changed a lot, coinciding with me joining PodcastOne Australia two years ago. I used to deal directly with the marketing directors of companies. I would contact for example an American Express, and speak to the marketing director, and then you develop a relationship and they become a sponsor. Whereas now it’s sort of a step removed, where I’m being represented inside digital media agencies. The market is a lot more competitive and that’s just a part of being a part of a big network.”
When asked about the increased competitiveness in the market now as opposed to 12 years ago, Reid said he has always had a simple response.
“The marketer in me always says the best marketing is a great product. I am just head down, bum up and try and create great audio content that solves the problems of my listeners, and that entertains or engages them at the same time.”
When asked about the future of the Small Business Big Marketing Show, Reid said that he just wants to keep growing the brand.
“My aim is just to continue to build that audience, get more subscribers, get the marketing conversation happening amongst small business owners. I’ve actually made a living out of podcasting, probably one of the few in the last decade, where it’s not a means to an end. Podcasting is actually my end. But it has created up until Covid a really good speaking career for me over the course of the years where I have been asked to speak at more and more conferences, and there’s a direct line, literally a direct line between my podcast and getting speaking gigs.”
[Listen to the Small Business Big Marketing Show here]
SCA’s LiSTNR and Schwartz Media enter strategic partnership
SCA’s LiSTNR and Schwartz Media have announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership for Schwartz’s existing podcast titles, 7am and The Culture, along with co-production opportunities between the companies to develop and publish new journalist-led podcasts.
Schwartz Media publishes The Saturday Paper and The Monthly magazine and produces the daily news podcast 7am and weekly arts and entertainment show The Culture.
Hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Ruby Jones, 7am is Australia’s most popular daily news podcast. It takes the key story of the day and unpacks the background, the main players and why it matters. The Culture, which launched in May, has built on the success of 7am with a weekly deep dive into the latest movies, music, television, streaming, books and art, hosted by Schwartz Media’s head of audio, Osman Faruqi.
Ruby Jones
In the October podcast ranker, Schwartz Media came in ninth in the top 10 publishers, with 1,557,284 monthly downloads. 7am was the fifth most popular podcast in both the Australian and Overall podcast categories, with 452,085 monthly listeners. The Culture also made the top 100 Australian made podcasts, coming in at #96.
[Listen to 7am here and The Culture here]
Pedestrian.TV partners with Spotify to launch daily news podcast
Pedestrian.TV, has launched Pedestrian Daily, a daily news podcast in an exclusive partnership with Spotify.
Running Monday to Friday, Pedestrian Daily will give a voice to the headlines dominating Pedestrian.TV in entertainment, music, sport, style, and politics.
Hosted by writer, comedian, Pedestrian.TV alumni and self proclaimed “new king of the airwaves” Louis Hanson, the 5-minute daily news show will hit young Aussie listeners with the local news they care about on their morning commute (or from their lounge room, for WFHers).
James McManus, creative director of Pedestrian Group, says: “We are excited to convert Pedestrian.TV’s eyeball-ripping headlines into the audio space and reach more young Aussies hungry for news tailored to their lives. This Spotify Exclusive adds an important daily news offering to Pedestrian Group’s podcast portfolio.”
Ben Watts, head of studios at Spotify Australia & New Zealand, says: “We’re huge fans of Pedestrian.TV’s irreverent and honest take on daily news and we know our audience are as well. We also know Spotify listeners want more short-form news podcasts, so the opportunity to collaborate with Pedestrian.TV to deliver a daily podcast made perfect sense for our business.”
[Listen to Pedestrian Daily here]
News.com.au launches daily news podcast, I’ve Got News For You
News.com.au has also launched a weekday news podcast made for young adults on the move, I’ve Got News For You.
Hosted by journalist Andrew ‘Bucky’ Bucklow, the 20-minute podcast dives into an issue or headline that has captured the nation’s attention. It will feature interviews with news.com.au journalists to help break down the big stories, as well as discussions with newsmakers and trendsetters.
Andrew Bucklow
News.com.au editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy said: “What readers love about news.com.au is its ability to highlight what they really care about. We approach news from the audience’s perspective and can balance hard news with funny, inspiring and quirky stories adding dimension and intrigue. Our audience wants to connect and understand the world around them, and now we can deliver more of that via a new medium.
“Bucky’s radio and podcasting background, combined with his knowledge of what the news.com.au audience really cares about – and his sense of humour – makes him the perfect person to front I’ve Got News For You.”
I’ve Got News For You is produced by News Corp Australia’s on-demand audio division NewsCast. The podcast is available through the news.com.au app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcatchers.
[Listen to I’ve Got News For You here]
ARN announces Life Uncut Radio Show to air Saturdays in 2022
Based on audience behaviours and insights, ARN has announced it is launching new Saturday shows across the KIIS Network in 2022. The first show to be announced is hosted by Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne who will make their radio debut with the Life Uncut Radio Show.
Transforming their successful podcast into a radio show each Saturday on KIIS, it is the first show to be launched as part of ARN’s Podcast to Broadcast Strategy.
See More: “We’ve become a lot more unfiltered”: Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne on Life Uncut
Brittany Hockley said, “I am beyond excited for the launch of Life Uncut Radio Show! There is nothing we love more than a solid yarn, sharing embarrassing stories, chatting to inspirational people and bringing the lols. We are so proud of what we have created and to be able to take it to a whole new level with a national radio show, allowing us to connect with a whole new bunch of awesome humans.”
Laura Byrne said, “The big secret is out, Life Uncut does radio! For the past two years Britt and I have been behind the mics in our bedrooms and now we’ll be in your ears every Saturday morning with KIIS. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and we can’t wait to have a laugh and share some wild stories with KIIS listeners. It will be everything you’ve come to love and know about Life Uncut, but a little bit more professional.”
