Feature Story Rise Integrated Expands into Podcast Space

Rise Integrated Expanding Its Content Marketing Service Into Podcast Space With Entrepreneur Files Launch

InstaCred Journalist Services’ disruptive pay-per-placement publicity team is booking clients for interviews on podcast shows.  

When podcast advertising’s revenue continues its meteoric rise to $2 billion in 2022, radio over-the-air advertising will sink deeper into its steady decline. 

The podcast industry is on pace to double revenue to $4 billion in two years. Podcasting was already off the charts in 2021, growing 72% to $1.45 billion, double the growth rate of other forms of digital advertising. 

It began when Andrew Ellenberg, President and Managing Partner of Rise Integrated, was having lunch with a former colleague from Audacy, the second-largest podcast group in the world, discussing the migration of listeners from radio to podcasts. 

He learned that podcast audience engagement levels are more robust than any branded media format, predisposing podcast listeners to make purchases or do business. Although the technology to deliver audio has changed, the legacy of over-the-air radio continues with podcasting. 

“The value proposition is the same with or without the benefits of digitizing audio. It’s portable, and podcasting is stickier than video because it’s a lower content commitment that doesn’t require your undivided attention,” said Ellenberg.

He underscored podcasting’s rise in popularity is due in part to its portability. LIsteners can take it with them wherever they go and listen while taking a shower, making coffee, walking the dogs, or taking the kids to school.

Ellenberg, a 30-year vet in over-the-air radio, has been quietly observing the podcast business since he founded his content creation and distribution company in January 2022. 

Tapping into his product development experience from ABC Radio, Bloomberg, and Audacy, he studied the subtle differences between the formats.  

Ellenberg called on the help of a community of successful entrepreneurs. Some of them were members of his Masterminds Group hosted by Next Level Performers to serve as a focus group. There was one message they made clear to him throughout the process. 

They want big media podcasts to invite them as guests for the exposure but feel frustrated that they don’t own the content from those shows. 

Podcast producers generally won’t allow them to redistribute interview comments, segments, or custom creative based on the interview for their audience.

Social media marketing directors and agencies can’t edit and repackage segments on their websites and social media pages. These creators can only do so much with the link and thumbnail podcast producers allow them to use.

Ellenberg, a prolific business journalist, saw this gap in demand and decided to fill it by creating a podcast for business owners to tell their origin stories. He branded it Entrepreneur Files to create a tongue-in-cheek air of mystery. 

The half-hour conversational podcast resonated with his community of business owners and executives aspiring to become entrepreneurs. Once he had a format that would scale as he populated it with inspiring stories from entrepreneurs, he offered his guests full ownership of their podcast interviews. 

Now they would have control over promotion, creative, marketing, and publicity with unlimited distribution rights across any platform, digital, over-the-air radio, or print. 

Ellenberg’s next move was to secure distribution on Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Audible, and iHeartRadio. He expects Apple, Pandora, and Audacy to follow suit in July 2022. 

Entrepreneur Files is testing well. Ellenberg’s informal style helps his guests relax and enjoy themselves on the podcast. As a result, it is earning a reputation as a safe platform for entrepreneurs to share their stories with other entrepreneurs. 

He based the content strategy on the premise that when entrepreneurs discover new meaning in their businesses, they feel more connected to the people around them. 

His market research revealed that business owners crave deeper insights into their personal and professional motivations. As a result, the podcast inspires them to join the conversation with fellow entrepreneurs who need inspiration to power through the daily grind of owning a business. 

Granting his clients full access to their interviews as an asset for their social media and websites also makes it easy for them to share content and distribution with other producers of podcasts, webinars, blogs, and digital publications. 

His content creation and distribution company offers an integrated branding solution on a robust podcast distribution platform. 

“We provide the complete interview with a 2x speed option for time-starved listeners, short audio chapters for skimmers, and soundbites to maximize extended marketing life on the guest’s social media pages and websites,” said Ellenberg, who serves as the executive producer and host on the podcast. 

Ellenberg also emails guests the embed code to distribute the podcast in their native environments on their websites within 48 hours of the interview. In addition, professional journalists from the award-winning writing team at Rise Integrated transcribe a polished transcript optimized for readability, SEO, and fodder for quote posts on social media. 

Ellenberg invites guests to select from a pool of interview questions to craft a custom content strategy. Then, they hop on a 30-minute huddle to prep for the program before the studio session. 

Regarding organic SEO, the new podcast is  #2 on Google under “Entrepreneur Files with Andrew Ellenberg.” The first guest, Martin Taggart, Chief Executive of Team Real Estate eXp, is in the #3 position with his name and title prominently displayed in the featured snippet on the search engine results page. 

Meanwhile, Ellenberg has been flying under the radar, building a community of creatives who share their content and access to distribution with one another to create a thriving creator economy. 

He is stepping up to help content creators get off the mass engagement treadmill on platforms that commoditize their creativity. 

They are burning out in record numbers chasing followers, likes, comments, and shares, monetizing an audience they don’t own for pennies on the dollar. 

That common problem inspired Ellenberg to create Quotability, his creator community, to give members a new way to generate a sustainable income by building assets they own in collaboration with other creators. 

To join the conversation, look up Quotability on Linkedin. Ellenberg said he hopes to “See you soon with another talented entrepreneur in the next episode of Entrepreneur Files. Make it a newsworthy day!”

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