A Podcast is a show. And, the person that hosts a Podcast is a Showrunner. If you are a Showrunner, it is time you start building an email list for your show.

Let me explain.

As a Showrunner, you offer?on-demand audio content to your listeners. You don’t always have their time. You are doing this?in the midst of several other podcasts. ?You should?build an email list.?In this way, you can build a relationship with your audience.

I urge my listeners to leave their emails with me if they have any question about the show.??I try to communicate with them beyond the show.?I use my list as a way to help my listeners.?I take the discussion further through the email list. ?That is what I use it for. And, I send them offers related to the show from time to time.

I like PodOmatic, Soundcloud, and other audio?hosting platforms because they reach more listeners. But they offer no tool to build my email list. That is what Rainmaker.fm does better.

People can comment?on iTunes. iTunes is like?the ‘Google’ of audio content.?But these comments are not that ‘intimate’ like when they drop their email with you to contact them.

I must warn here that you should not Spam your audience with responders. Send them emails with caution, bearing in mind that you are dealing with real human beings at the other end. They have needs. And the reason they are reaching out to you is because they feel that you can help them. Don’t abuse it.

You?can use your email list to tell your listeners of coming up shows. It works for me. I am new on iTunes, where I send my podcasts, but I do have a healthy email list which I have built around my blog. I am not talking of a list of thousands of subscribers. I have a few hundreds. They have been my reliable audience since I started my podcast last year.

Just the other day I met?a guy?who has listened to almost?all ?of my podcasts. It was interesting to know that he is on my email list and has followed me each time I send notifications to my?list. Who says “email marketing is dead”. You can say that again.

These are the people who are ?listening to me that I know. ?I know their needs, and I am trying to help them with my podcasts and articles. They relate with me. And it is through this list that I make that happen. I am responsible to them just as they are responsible to me. I am building my podcast around them in the same way that I built my blog.

If you build a list around your show now, you will never regret it in the future. I do not?intend to monetize my podcast anytime?soon. But?when I do, it will be easy to create a business from my email list.??That is one way a Showrunner can make profit from his/her show.

Maybe you have not thought about building an email list?or never considered it as important. Maybe, you are not just ready for it yet. But I must say, if you are a Showrunner, it is time you start building a robust email list?around your show. The sooner the better.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.