With podcasts on the rise, we ask Podcast Network Asia CEO Ron Baetiong about how aspiring artists can get started and how it can help businesses grow.

With over 4 million podcast titles on Spotify alone and the Philippines being one of the top countries in the world in terms of podcast engagement, there’s no denying how popular podcasts are. An episodic series of digital audio and vidoes, a podcast takes on the form of a talkshow or conversation, where one or more recurring hosts engage in a topic or discussion with guests. What’s more, these podcasts can either be scripted or improvised in nature.

In fact, Spotify’s Head of Studios for Southeast Asia Carl Zuzarte said that there was a 60% increase in time spent listening to podcasts among Filipinos in the past year, with the Gen Z audience taking up 86% of the listenership. Plus, more and more people are getting into the bandwagon themselves by creating their own podcasts aside from just listening to them.

For aspiring podcast artists or even businesses who want to explore this medium, we enlist the help of Podcast Network Asia CEO Ron Baetiong to give us insights and tips.

How big is the Philippine podcast audience and can I actually expect to meet my target audience as listeners?

As we speak, we already have a podcast listenership of 40 million Filipinos listening to podcasts spread out across multiple niches. You will definitely meet your target audience in podcasts, as it is community-driven by default.

Is the Philippines ready for podcasts to be a major marketing tool as forecasted for future digital trends?

Yes! Podcasts are growing bigger and bigger across the country and it’s only a matter of time until it becomes the default talk medium.

How can podcasts help businesses grow?

Podcasts are a great networking tool where business leaders can connect with different communities in podcasts [that] they guest on, [as] podcasts have a very high brand recall in their ads. These can help businesses grow in multiple ways!

How can someone start their own podcast? What’s the process and what do they need?

[The] best practice is to ask yourself what topic you can talk about for the next 10 years that you wouldn’t mind doing, then from there look at pegs to base your format on. Invest in a good USB or XLR mic, then start recording and never stop. And if they need help with editing, they can use our platform http://podmachine.com.

How do I monetize my podcast?

You can monetize your podcast [in] several ways:

• Sponsorships and paid guestings from brands once you’ve garnered a decent amount of listeners
• Affiliate marketing and getting commissions from brands you support for purchases your listeners do [by] using your promo code or affiliate link
• B2C subscriptions from your listeners subscribing to premium content you have (usually this is done on Patreon)

For aspiring entrepreneurs and business people, what are some business podcasts that they can start out with?

RJ Ledesma, Francis Kong, and Chinkee Tan’s podcasts are a great starting point for local shows. And for international shows, I recommend How I Built This by Guy Raz and EntreLeadership.