The Podcast Show London 2026: What Every Podcaster Needs to Know

0:05 Welcome back to the Take a Chance, a new podcast hosted by

0:08 me, Alexandra Forsythe. So excited to be coming to you

0:12 today. I'm going to be giving a debrief

0:15 of the podcast, a show that took place in London.

0:19 Let's dive in. There was so many talks that I

0:21 wanted to go to. It was split up into different

0:24 stages. They had the origin stage,

0:26 creator stage business, indie stage.

0:29 There were fantastic platforms for me to immerse myself into

0:35 this industry. Podcasting is very much evolving

0:38 at a rapid pace. The buzzword throughout the show

0:41 was video and how we can incorporate video into our

0:44 podcast journey. Up until now, the emphasis has

0:47 really been on audio the last couple of years, but shifting

0:51 towards video. So I thought that was really

0:53 exciting in terms of hearing the trends from some of the major

0:56 platforms such as YouTube, Spotify and Apple is talking

0:59 about how to really utilise this going forward and how to make

1:03 your content stand out and how you can show up as a content

1:08 creator as a podcaster as well. Doesn't matter what stage you're

1:12 at. I think the main takeaway for me

1:16 with this show was that you can be at any stage of your journey

1:21 and there's somebody there to help you on your way as a

1:24 community and it really does feel like a fantastic

1:27 environment to get involved in. I did pick up on a few key

1:33 topics and pointers that I wanted to share today.

1:36 Storytelling, video and future and mindset.

1:39 Storytelling I think will always remain a key part of podcasting,

1:44 generally media, entertainment, content creation, social media,

1:49 online, offline, community. I think storytelling has such a

1:52 business building that narrative, building that art and

1:56 figuring out exactly what you need to do going forward and how

1:59 you want to bring your community along with you on this journey.

2:03 Future mindset. I wrote an article for the

2:06 Podcasting Today media last month in April.

2:10 And within that article I spoke about live events, community and

2:14 where we're going in terms of the industry, experimental

2:17 concepts. I think not spoken about enough

2:19 cross media. As I said, media, entertainment,

2:22 sports, gaming, all intersecting into one, mobile apps, social

2:26 media, in person, community driven experiences, all of that

2:31 merges very well together. The industry is very much

2:34 evolving. This is a key theme that came

2:37 out of the show. We're all trying to navigate

2:39 collaboration, brand partnership, sponsorship and

2:43 wherever you want to take our podcasting to the next level.

2:46 Very exciting, but also a lot to think about in terms of the

2:49 industry creator stage. If you want to start your

2:52 podcast, this is what you can do.

2:55 That also had an international stage which really focused on

2:59 across the pond, podcasters, production researchers, analysts

3:03 coming over to talk about what's happening in the US, what's

3:06 happening in Canada, Australia. Being able to meet so many

3:11 podcasters and so many people in the industry.

3:14 I can't emphasise enough, if you can, anyone listening who can't

3:18 make it to the podcast show, but you want to be a part of this.

3:22 They're already looking at 2027. There are a couple of other

3:25 events in the podcast space, which I am going to link in the

3:28 resource section. There's Pod Fest taking place in

3:32 September, Podcast Movement if you are across the pond in New

3:37 York, that's also taking place in September.

3:39 If you can make it over there, I would really recommend it.

3:43 What else is happening? There's a couple of other

3:46 broadcast events taking place, networking events, very much in

3:50 London, meetups as well. There are also live events where

3:54 you can go and watch other podcasters talk about their

3:58 shows to always be on the lookout for ways that you can

4:02 collaborate with others, show up, be on their podcast, but

4:05 also unique people because that's really is a good part of

4:10 the show for me as being around others in this space and

4:13 learning from the UK podcast Consumer Report 2026.

4:18 Emphasis on video, but also a big emphasis on the casual

4:22 consumer. So adaptability is key.

4:24 Now in podcasting, if somebody's going for a walk, driving their

4:30 car, picking their children up from school, being able to

4:33 listen to that podcast on the go, have it on in the

4:36 background. The same for video, there is a

4:39 proportion of listeners for podcasts who have the video on

4:43 in the background but also are tuning in more to video as well

4:47 as audio. Using video as a discovery tool

4:51 to then listen to audio podcast, which I thought was just

4:55 fascinating. I wasn't able to reflect on my

4:58 own mission as a podcaster myself.

5:01 Bringing the audience along with you on that journey.

5:04 You're telling a story. You want the listeners to lean

5:07 in to that story and the way you're telling it.

5:09 Also with the guests, you want to take them on the journey with

5:12 you as well and be active participants.

5:15 How to TuneIn public relations PR, pitching yourself to the

5:19 media, making sure your broadcast aligns with the media

5:23 outlet that you want to be featured by.

5:25 If you're launching a podcast and you want to get more

5:27 exposure, if you're on your way, put it out there to a new

5:31 audience and really build that community over time.

5:33 Just make sure that whoever you're pitching to, in terms of

5:36 that media, it aligns well with where you're going.

5:40 Was an avid pitcher myself. I spoken on BBC Radio this year,

5:44 podcasting Today, for example, really narrating different

5:49 elements of the podcast industry through my boys, through my

5:52 writing. It's a fantastic medium to

5:55 showcase all levels of your abilities, but just make sure

5:58 that it fully aligns with what you want, the genre of your

6:01 podcast, the audience of your podcast, the running scenes.

6:05 Otherwise, we always talk about return investment or due

6:08 diligence is key. I think.

6:09 Monetization and protecting your IPI do wish I'd had more insight

6:14 into monetization of podcasting. Send me.

6:17 This is become apparent over the last six months.

6:20 I've been podcasting for around 14 months now.

6:22 So I do wish right at the beginning I had learned a little

6:25 bit more in terms of brand partnerships, in terms of

6:29 sponsorships, in terms of ad reads, intro, outro and what

6:34 that looks like effectively over the life cycle.

6:36 And at the same time protecting that if you're a solo podcaster,

6:41 if you're a Co host interview style, making sure that you

6:46 understand how to protect their either through contracts.

6:50 Copyright is standard in the UK. So depending on the jurisdiction

6:53 it will change. In the US for example, making

6:57 sure you understand the copyright laws, making sure you

6:59 understand trademark. Need to possibly seek out

7:02 advice. Obviously, I'm not a legal

7:03 representative that it would be worth just having a cool

7:08 understanding of where your current positioning and where

7:11 you're going. You've worked so hard to put

7:14 this together to identify the idea, put it into a concept,

7:18 record the episode, production, editing, and then you've

7:22 launched. You want to make sure you

7:24 protect all of them. So keeping it in mind.

7:26 And lastly, in the podcast, Ask Cole is my talk, which I gave on

7:31 the second day of the podcast show.

7:33 I was a little bit nervous to go on.

7:35 I think when you're so passionate about what you do,

7:38 and I'm so passionate about podcasting, I'm so passionate

7:41 about Take a Chance on you. I really wanted to bring that

7:43 home. I've been doing it for 14

7:45 months. We're transatlantic.

7:47 We've had US, yes, join me from New Jersey and New York Lay, but

7:53 then we've also had guests from Australia, Canada, South Africa,

7:57 the Caribbean, bringing a level of flavour in terms of business

8:01 at B2B marketing, technology, recruitment, events.

8:04 We spoke about media and entertainment, how to pitch

8:07 yourself, TV. We've had young creatives on as

8:10 well as thought leaders. It was really bringing that home

8:13 how organically, no payouts, no marketing up until now when I

8:17 started networking, it was through what that Ave that I was

8:21 able to pick the 1st 10 guests and bring them on the podcast by

8:24 asking them. But showing up persistently

8:26 showing up consistently, making sure you have good quality

8:29 content, even if it's only audio in the beginning.

8:32 The statistics are showing that more listeners are tuning in to

8:34 audio and the video video is rising, but the core message was

8:38 the audio is still very much in play.

8:41 So good quality audio. Grab yourself a mic there, our

8:44 budget podcasting mics that you can get offline as well as

8:49 making sure you get to a studio in person if you can.

8:52 If you can't, it's absolutely fine, but just doing what works

8:55 best for you. I brought all of that home in my

8:58 session as well as it being very interactive.

9:00 So passing the mic. I had around 40 people, 10 to 15

9:04 questions in total interactive session and I absolutely loved

9:07 it. Like I'm very tired now coming

9:10 down, but in the moment, just going back and forth.

9:13 How to showcase your personal brand as well as your podcast

9:16 brand. How to combat loneliness,

9:19 working full time as well as trying to get your podcast off

9:21 the ground, How how to launch, how to make sure you're getting

9:26 your core message across on social media and how to build

9:28 your in person community. All of this we spoke about and

9:32 it's within the podcasting article that I will make sure

9:35 that I put out a few more pieces online.

9:37 But you do want to understand more about podcasting, get in

9:39 touch. I am going to be doing a little

9:41 bit of coaching for a few people that came up to me and wanted to

9:45 understand how to launch in June.

9:47 And I'll try and give back as much as I can through master

9:50 classes, workshops, really coming to the table and seeing

9:52 what I can do for you because like I said, it's been 14 months

9:56 doing well, It's organic. If you can invest in marketing,

10:01 then of course that is a route forward.

10:03 Making sure you have a strategist who can help you

10:05 along the way. My preference would be that I

10:07 would seek out a third party because not that I don't trust

10:10 myself, but I would like another opinion.

10:13 Especially now that we're growing, how do we get from A to

10:16 B? How do we grow?

10:18 How do we not wait for permission?

10:20 I want to say thank you for tuning in today.

10:22 Obviously it's a quick mini debris.

10:24 All in all, podcast show is fantastic.

10:26 Like I said, they are gearing up for 2027.

10:28 If you do want to get involved in a podcasting event, like I

10:32 said, there's the Podcast Fest London Podcast Movement in

10:36 September, there is the British Podcast Awards as well as taking

10:40 place later this year and there's a bunch of podcasting

10:43 and networking events in London, across the UK and across the

10:46 pond. There is meet ups that you can

10:49 get involved in. So I will link the resources as

10:52 much as I can. I will show up to you online and

10:56 see what I can do to get you podcasting and on your way.

11:00 Keep up the good work and we will speak very soon.

11:04 Bye.