This is an article that I wrote today and tried to put on LinkedIn but I was unable to ascertain if it went live or not. Just in case here it is in it's entirety : -
A few years ago I created a podcast called : PMICast designed to discuss issues around my medical insurance intermediary practice. It was intended to have a dual purpose. Firstly to (obviously) drive potential customers to my business but also to provide information and support across a range of issues around the UK private medical insurance (PMI) market. It was then and still is on the only podcast ever to have focused on this particular area of insurance business. Over the years I recorded, usually every two or three weeks and ended up with a library of 68 episodes, all of which are all still available for download on the web or iTunes (other pod catchers are of course available and I'm registered with most). I also built up a good listener base and at the peak I was regularly having several thousand people download and listen the the podcast.
The original format of the show changed slightly as it became harder to introduce new, relevant content and I ended up, still with the focus on PMI but I tied the show more into my business blog as well which allowed me to discuss a few different issues but keep the content relevant to my core audience. You can find my blog at :
www.localventure.blogspot.com
If you're interested in checking it out you will find that the blog is less devoted to medical insurance and reflects PMI, my business point of view and some of my personal interests as well. Whilst not directly relevant to my comments to follow on the podcast, the blog might be of interest for you to understand where I am coming from.
Over the last say three years the podcast and blog in tandem have raised my profile both with clients and professional introducers to my business (mainly IFA's, accountants and General Brokers). I have placed business with new clients due to these social media outlets and also put in place some important and very lucrative business contacts, directly as a result as well. This brings me to my problem ... the time involved in running my business has increased in part because of the success of the podcast and I've had less and less free time to concentrate on social media plus planning and recording the podcast. Also as other business priorities take over I have felt less inclined to search out interesting content to podcast. So on the rare occasion when I do find 30 minutes to spare to record an episode I found the content I might have to talk about to be dull and uninspiring. The thing is though that I know that having the podcast out there and regular makes my business really unique, adds real value and I can use it to further expand my business which is still definitely a priority for me moving forwards into 2017 and beyond.
With all of the above in mind I have decided to shift the focus of the podcast away from pure coverage of PMI (although I will stress that the name will remain unchanged and I will still want to feature content about my practice and medical insurance) and introduce other elements/discussions of business more generally, perhaps even with a bit of other relevant current affairs and technology news thrown in for good measure. I'm therefore working on a plan and outline strategy for a new pilot of episode #69 of the podcast. However I do wonder if this 're-invigoration' of the show might be assisted by the introduction of a new voice literally. What I'm therefore hoping to do is find a like-minded co-host for the new show. I'm looking for someone with an interest in business, current affairs and technology who (preferably) also owns their own business. That way we can offer the opinions of two entrepreneurs (hopefully from differing business sectors), set up some more dynamic content that provides for interesting content for listeners whilst at the same time gets the word about both of our businesses out there on-line.
Hopefully then this is a great opportunity for someone (probably aged between 30 and 50, male or female ) to join me and drive the project forward. There is no catch. No payment required. I will record the show (probably using a Skype call once a week or more likely fortnightly) and put it up live and then we can both be involved in the marketing and planning of future episodes if things click.
If you think that you might be interested visit the blog : www.localventure.blogspot.com to find out more about me. Then use pmicast@gmail.com to send me a message. You'll also find me on Twitter : @localventure1 and of course here on LinkedIn
Can't wait to hear back !
Phil Knight
Independent Healthcare Consultant + Podcasting Guru
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