And What They’re Doing Instead
The business newsletter had a good run. For years, it was the gold standard of direct audience communication — personal, owned, controllable. But open rates have been sliding for a decade, attention spans are fractured, and inboxes are a warzone. Something had to give.
That something is podcasting. And the businesses moving in this direction aren’t doing it because it’s trendy. They’re doing it because it works in ways the newsletter simply can’t replicate.
The Inbox Problem
Email open rates across industries now average somewhere between 20 and 30 percent on a good day, and declining. The average reader spends less than 15 seconds with a newsletter before deciding to scroll past or close the tab. You can write beautifully, design brilliantly, and still lose to the subject line two rows above yours.
Podcasting sidesteps all of this. A subscriber who hits play is actively choosing to spend time with you — often 20, 30, or 45 minutes at a stretch. They’re doing the dishes, commuting, running, working out. You’re with them in a way no email ever could be.
Trust Compounds Differently in Audio
There’s a well-established phenomenon in podcasting that marketers quietly love: listener loyalty. Podcast audiences trust their hosts at rates that dwarf almost every other content format. Edelman’s research consistently shows that personal relationships with trusted voices — even parasocial ones — drive purchasing decisions more powerfully than branded content.
When a business leader shows up in your earbuds week after week, sharing how they think about problems, what they’re learning, where they’ve failed — the relationship that builds is qualitatively different from anything a curated email newsletter produces. It’s intimate by nature.
The Conversion Case
The business case is there too. Companies with active podcasts report higher content engagement, longer time-on-site when episodes are embedded, and measurable increases in qualified inbound leads when shows are positioned around expertise areas. Podcasting isn’t just a brand play — for many businesses, it’s becoming a core part of the pipeline.
Lower Friction Than You Think
The barrier to entry has also dropped considerably. Professional studio time is more accessible and affordable than most business owners assume, and a well-structured show can be recorded in a couple of hours and repurposed across social channels, YouTube, and transcripts for weeks afterwards. One recording session can generate more content than an entire month of newsletter writing.
Not a Replacement — A Promotion
This isn’t about abandoning email. The smartest businesses use podcasting to deepen the relationship with an audience they’ve already built, while simultaneously reaching new listeners who would never have opened a cold email. The podcast brings people in; other channels close the loop.
The newsletter was built for a different attention economy. This one belongs to audio.
Curious what a podcast could look like for your business? VodPod Studios in Palma works with brands at every stage — from first episode to full series production. Let’s talk about what your show could be.
