A case study for specialist doctors in private practice who are thinking about a podcast.
Prof Michael Chapman AM has been a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology for over 40 years. We launched his podcast, The IVF Journey, in 2016, and it now has close to 250,000 downloads and close to 200 episodes.
It takes him about 10 minutes of talking a week, plus a live session on Facebook once a month.
Why he started
In his words, he "played a major role in the development of IVF in Australia". He came to me wanting to use the expertise he'd built over a long career in two ways: as education, and to promote his work.
What we did
We started with his website, then launched the podcast. Each week he talks for about 10 minutes on one part of IVF or infertility.
Once a month we run a live session on Facebook. The questions people ask there give him material for more episodes.
Who listens
He says the episodes are of value to patients, some of his fellow doctors, and the nurses at his clinic. A number of nurses have told him the episodes helped them understand the work as they started in an infertility clinic.
In his words
"We then got into a podcast called The IVF Journey, which has been highly successful with audience now approaching a quarter of a million downloads… I think Ash has done extremely well to set it up the way he has."
Prof Michael Chapman AM, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, host of The IVF Journey.
Watch his 2-minute video on YouTube.
Questions doctors ask
How much of my time will it take?
For Prof Chapman, it's about 10 minutes of talking a week, plus the monthly live session. There's more on this in how much of my time will a podcast take?
What would I talk about?
One part of your field at a time. For Prof Chapman, the questions from his live sessions also turn into episodes.
Will it bring me patients?
I can't promise that, and I'd be wary of anyone who does. What I can say is that his show is valued by patients, doctors and nurses, and it's still running ten years after we launched it.
Next step
Start with your own numbers. This 5-minute worksheet shows what one patient or client is worth to you.
You can also read how a Sydney strata lawyer billed a $10,000 client within six weeks of launching her podcast.
If you run your own practice and want to know whether a podcast would work for you, book a 30-minute fit call.
