I do a lot of podcasting.

I’ve hosted five different shows over the past several years, and I’ve also appeared as a guest on many more.

Often, my clients want to talk about starting a podcast for themselves. Their question inevitably boils down to:

… will I really be able to get customers & clients from my podcast?

The answer is YES… you can get clients from your podcast. I’ve personally generated six-figures worth of revenue for my business through various podcasts.

Those clients have come through different journeys. For example:

Bucket one – I’ve won clients, often from across the country and in a few cases overseas, who found my podcast, liked it, subscribed to it, and eventually hired me to coach them. This hasn’t happened frequently, but it’s happened.

Bucket two – On one of my podcasts, I frequently invite guests to join me. On more than one occasion, the guest on one of these episodes has ended up engaging my coaching services.

Bucket three – I’ve had invited guests on my podcast become great referral sources. We met on the show, and they saw enough value in what I do that they’ve referred clients to me.

Bucket four – I’ve appeared as a guest on a bunch of other podcasts, and in a few cases, those appearances have resulted in new coaching clients.

Bucket five – My podcast has served as a powerful branding and credibility tool which has helped me close the deal with clients who met me through a different channel. For example, someone who is referred to me will often check out my podcast before they actually call me. Or we’ll meet at an event, they’ll listen to the podcast, and then a few months later want to work with me.

So, yes, there is no question that your podcast can help you get more clients.

But here’s what you need to know:

It will generally take quite a while before you start to see results. It often takes 6 months – or more – of consistent production before you get any real traction.

This is where most people go wrong. They start a podcast and give up after just a few months. IF you’re serious about launching a podcast, commit to it and go hard for six months, regardless of whether you’re getting any response or not. After six months, you can look at the results you’ve achieved and decide whether it’s worth it to continue.

If you don’t have the bandwidth to make that commitment, don’t bother. Come back to podcasting at another time. Or just look for opportunities to appear on other people’s podcasts, but don’t start your own.

Bottom line: Podcasting is a powerful branding tool. It can be a great source of new clients and customers. But it’s a long-term play. If you’re looking for overnight results, there are other lead-gen strategies that will work better.