Inside the mind of the marketer and the host of The ABM Conversations Podcast: Yaagneshwaran Ganesh

 

The award-winning marketer and the host of The ABM Conversations Podcast, Yaagneshwaran Ganesh (Yaag), says that B2B marketing podcasts need to be looked at as a long-term content marketing exercise.

Nowadays, with easy access to technology, creating and publishing content isn't a problem, but ensuring that the content you create is relevant to your listeners is the challenge.

Yaag, the Director of Marketing at Avoma, said that he never aimed for a million downloads when he started the podcast but wanted to have strong 1:1 relationships with his listeners.

Talking about his meaty interviews with marketing legends like David Cancel, Seth Godin, he says, "It always starts with conducting in-depth research on my guests. The difference between spending 20 minutes on research about your podcast guest versus spending two to three (or more!) hours is immeasurable. The result clearly shows. And the second part is about discovering the right angle. You need to figure out what your niche audience can glean from the episode before you actually sit down to interview the guest."

The ABM Conversations Podcast's audience is very vocal about their likes and dislikes about the topics discussed in each episode. They write long posts on Linkedin about what they took away from each episode and pointers they strongly disagree with. That shows their commitment as well as resonance with the show.

Yaagneshwaran recommends that all podcasters be reading up on any case studies, listening to previous podcast episodes. He then recommends scheduling a 15 to 20-minute discovery call with their guests to get a sense of their personality. That way, you know what conversation style works with them and what doesn't.

About keeping the content meaty, he says, "Stick to questions that add value. Being able to learn from your guest means asking valuable questions. Avoid filler questions like 'Where you went to college or what your favorite coffee is.' Focus on the things nobody else is asking, like asking a VC what happens when a business doesn't live up to what they agreed to."

Yaag is also a big fan of Naval Ravikant, the CEO of AngelList. He truly lives by the motto that Naval recommends 'Play long-term games with long-term people.' He podcasts to enjoy the process, build relationships, and genuinely provide value to marketers and salespeople in the Saas industry.

The ABM Conversations Podcast ranks in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally.