The podcast agency I’ve built has:
→ Produced almost 10,000 episodes
→ Across 140+ brand podcasts
→ With 15 million downloads combined

It started as just me in 2016 and now is a global team of 35, incredibly talented podcasters.

We create the best brand podcasts in the business.

But it wasn’t always like this.

On LinkedIn, I'm sharing the hard-won lessons from developing, producing, and growing all these amazing shows that got us here.

Follow along if you want to create a bigger and better podcast for your brand.

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"MoneyWise started as an idea that really intimidated me. It's a ton of work, and Lower Street have made it very easy for me to make a very popular show."

Sam Parr, Host of MoneyWise and Co-Founder of Hampton

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"Harry and the team are professional, knowledgeable and friendly. But perhaps more importantly, the output they produce is exceptional.”

Michael Bird, Head of Audio at HPE

Harry Morton

What a load of old bollocks this is in The Times.

Mistaking video-led discovery for the death of audio is dangerous.

James is right, podcasting is shifting and the big shows are largely going video. As are brands.

And it makes sense, video (in YouTube + social) gets you

- Distribution and discovery
- A multi-channel platform
- Community engagement
- Quicker algorithmic feedback on content - what works and what doesn't

But to suggest audio is obsolete and dying is ridiculous.

Yes - as James talks about in the article - when TV came along, the status of radio stars dropped significantly and the big talent shifted to the visual.

But today 86% of the UK adult population listens to the radio every week.

Its role has changed, but it hasn't gone anywhere.

We can talk all day about intimacy, the fact that you can consume audio when your eyes and hands are busy, the role it plays in companionship and community.

The economic challenges of producing narrative audio are real and yet it survives because of these things.

At the end of last year, CUMULUS MEDIA and Signal Hill Insights shared with us that 92% of podcast consumers listen. Only 8% *only* watch podcasts.

Of those 92% who listen, do they *only* listen? No, many of them watch as well, but to say that audio is "dying" is complete rubbish.

Growth and consumption are two totally different jobs and audio is doing the consumption bit just fine.

Video is a distribution multiplier not a replacement for audio.

Debate over the definition and future of podcasting is really only something we on the inside care about. The consumer just wants good shows to listen to and watch, they don't care what it's labelled.

Perception is important. When “podcast” becomes shorthand for video chat shows, it creates a discovery and buying problem for audio-first formats. If people think podcasts require sitting and watching, many of the best use cases for audio never even get considered.

So while discussions like this are fairly navel gazey, I think they're potentially quite harmful in influencing creator decisions, investment strategies, what gets commissioned.

If we all believe and reinforce the idea that video is the only way forward, and we over-invest in the formats and content that perform in that medium, we'll neglect the things that make audio so special and that there is still so much demand for.

The future is "yes and..." Video helps with reach and content validation. Audio is for depth and habit.

I see this first hand with Moneywise, a podcast I co-present and talk about a lot. The reach and engagement in the comments comes in video.

But the die hards, the people who show up every week and consume the entire episode and who - most importantly - convert the best for Hampton, the brand behind it. Those people are the listeners.

It's attention vs retention.

Video will change how podcasts are discovered.

Audio is about how they fit into our lives.

The Podcast Strategist, sharing everything I know and learn about brand content | CEO, Lower Street, podcasts for brands | Clients Pepsico, Fidelity, Booking.com & more.

Building a new podcast and video studio in this space. I’ll be sharing the whole process here.

This is the “before” shot.

As I go, I’ll document things like:

- How content strategy informs design
- Set design and creative decisions
- Sound treatment and lighting
- Tech considerations
- All the gear
- How tos

And then you’ll see the “after” shot.

If that sounds interesting give me a follow.

If you have questions or things you want me to cover as I document this, let me know.

Also I’m keen for input - let me know what you think I should do with the space.

Humans hire other humans.

So your LinkedIn profile should read like one...

Stop writing about yourself in the third person, or using corporate language to describe your experience selling "innovative solutions".

If I'm bored reading your profile, chances are I'm not looking forward to speaking to you for an interview.

I totally get the instinct to be conservative, not offend, play it safe. But the problem is, if you do that, you sound like literally everyone else on the planet.

Totally indistinguishable.

On the other hand, if I read your profile and get a sense of who you actually are as a person, how you communicate, what you care about and believe in, how you approach your work - I get so excited when I find those.

Your past job titles and descriptions, the posts you publish and share, definitely your "about" section. These are all opportunities to reach out of the screen and make a connection with the human reading about you on the other end.

Hey, I'm just one hiring manager. I guess if you want a role as a senior accountant at a big 4 firm, maybe this advice doesn't track. But even accountants are humans, right?! :)

This ad cost us £5k to make. We shipped it in 3 weeks.

Here's what that looked like.

This was a bonkers project and not like any client work we've done.

I'll break down what it cost, how and why we did it...

We were planning the promotion of our new video podcasting services for brands and 3 weeks out, we didn't feel like we had enough to do the announcement justice.

So the team pitched a concept for a video ad to show - as well as tell - what we're all about.

We didn't have time and we didn't have budget. Constraints breed creativity and this ended up being the most fun project (if also one of the more stressful) of 2025.

The concept came about quickly - I part own a small herd of cows. This felt different and interesting enough to stand out and also kept our costs down.

Cows can be divas but their fees aren't too high. Fields are a bit more logistically challenging than a studio, but they're much cheaper!

At Lower Street we're expert writers, producers, editors, storytellers, so much of this we could do in house.

We had to outsource:

- A camera crew (including sound)
- Makeup 💅 
- My friend Marguerite as resident cow wrangler
- Food for humans and cows on set
- Some transport

Everything else we handled ourselves. It was a mammoth effort.

Week 1: we came up with the concept, wrote it, edited the script, and booked in all the freelancers. We prayed for sun (not a guarantee in England).

Week 2: I learned my lines (ish). We shot it.

Week 3: we edited it, graded the video, planned the release copy, and shipped it.

Week 4: the video launched here, on industry press, and on YouTube.

We paid for some targeted views on YouTube to help us reach who we needed to.

The reception to the ad was great, we had some inbound off the back of it, and it sparked many ideas of content we should produce going forward. Overall a big win.

Moving this fast isn't possible for all teams - particularly in bigger companies. But this does show how committing to an idea and working within tight constraints can create really great outcomes, and original content.

I'd love to hear your stories of shoestring productions and what you have planned for this year?

Looking for the right person to lead the commercial side of the business.

We're growing and need someone to own revenue, how we show up in the market, and play key role in shaping our strategy going forward.

If that's you, or someone you know, take a look at the info below and submit an application. We'd love to hear from you.

Growth hack your way to a big podcast in 2026...

Grey hat guide to growing a hit show:

1. Create AI slop content farms

Create burner youtube accounts and fill them with hundreds or thousands of AI generated clips from your episodes to mass A/B test content, titles, and descriptions.

the winners tell you how to position and package your episodes, what content to make.

2. Fake it 'til you make it

buy followers and youtube subscribers. pay to boost episode views on youtube. Create fake accounts to comment early on your episodes.

Use this social "proof" to book big name guests.

use the proof and the guests to pitch sponsor deals. use that cash to repeat the above.

3. Mine TikTok for controversy

controversy = comments = reach

look for anything loosely related to your niche that gets people going on social media. misinformation, fear mongering, whatever.

we just want engagement.

4. spam

Use tools like Apollo to build lists of your target audience and then auto-enroll them to your podcast newsletter.

you have a huge newsletter overnight - add it to your sponsorship pitch deck.

5. buy youtube ads against your competitors

get banners and pre-roll clips of your content on the shows who's audience you want to steal.

make the packaging similar to improve ctr.



What am I missing? would you (do you) use these tactics for your show?

Trade shows are one of the best places to grow a B2B podcast.

Here's a great example from Raptive.

B2B podcasts can be challenging to promote. It's not just quantity of listeners you're typically trying to reach but also quality.

Spray and pray doesn't work, you have to be focused.

Trade shows and conferences are the perfect place to activate your podcast.

You have a high density of industry-specific people (your target audience), who are explicitly in the room to network and learn.

That's exactly where podcasts fit.

Use your booth to promote your show. That could mean flyers, QR codes, or giveaways.

Or, like Raptive did, put your show front and center. They had screens and headphones so folks could sample the show right then and there - no friction.

It gives visitors a reason to hang out at your booth, it immediately stands out from all the other companies sitting behind desks or trying to give you a free mint and a stress ball.

It's the perfect representation of your company's brand, its voice, its values, and its expertise.

And the perfect opportunity to capture the exact listeners - and maybe even guests - you want for your podcast.

Some nice podcast PR wins for two of our clients.

The trick to coverage like this isn’t just a great promo team (though that helps 😉).

It's earned by having something genuinely worth talking about.

That might be recognisable talent having more honest, human conversations than you'd expect, like Changing Rooms from Elect.

It might be taking a familiar topic and approaching it differently, like 1440 Explores, unpacking how large language models actually work in new ways.

If you want your show to stand out and earn attention, it has to have something noteworthy about it - something worth talking about.

If you nail that in the development of your show, it makes the growth and promotion stages of the project so so much easier and more effective.

My son (6) wrote his first song the other day.

The lyrics go

All day, I lik to play
Ooh yeah, ooh yeah.
All I lik to do is play play!


Here's what it taught me about creativity...

I dunno, something about authenticity, whatever, I just thought it was sweet.

AI redesigned my office as a podcast studio.

Here’s what it gave me.

More incredible podcast conference activation. So good!

We’re officially counting down to IPPE 2026 in Atlanta 🥚🎙️Last year at PEAK, which was our first in-person event, we had an absolute blast connecting with so many industry professionals. There was great conversations, great energy, and a lot of ideas that stuck with us long after the show floor cleared.

This year? Let’s just say… we’ve been planning. 👀 Eggheads is excited to engage with producers, processors, suppliers, and industry leaders again by sharing ideas, learning what’s top of mind, and continuing the conversations that move this industry forward.

If you’re attending IPPE:
• Drop a comment with the day(s) you’ll be there
• Tell us what you’re most excited to see or talk about
And if you still need to register, use code EX76112 for a discount.
Atlanta, we’ll see you soon. 🥚✨

#IPPE2026 #EggIndustry #PoultryIndustry #EggheadsPodcast #AgIndustry #AgNetworking #FoodProduction

Most brands spend countless hours creating content - only to feel like no one’s watching.

This frustration comes from showing up online without a clear content strategy, or a system to turn content into clients.

They post sporadically, but:

Struggle to stand out in saturated markets

Waste energy on content that doesn’t move the needle

Stay invisible to the very people they’re trying to reach

How can you grow if no one’s hearing your message?

The cycle continues.

Momentum stalls. Pressure builds.

They start asking: “Should we try ads? Hire another agency? Quit content altogether?”

What they need isn’t more content.

They need a system to turn ideas into trust - and trust into revenue.

That’s exactly what we do at Castos Productions.

We help companies build epic brands through high-leverage video, podcasting, and social content - without burning out your team or betting the farm on unproven tactics.

Here’s our three-part approach:

Nail your strategy: Build a content system aligned with your brand and goals

Create once, distribute everywhere: Turn one asset into dozens

Build a loyal audience that actually converts

You’ll stop guessing and start owning your niche.

Inbound leads go up. Brand equity compounds. Your content starts working.

Message me “content engine” if you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start growing with clarity.

Craig Hewitt

After 8 years of working on Castos all day, every day, we're embarking on a new product.  

Will be sharing what the product is tomorrow, but today I wanted to share a bit about how I chose the direction to go in...cause A LOT has changed about how/why/where to build products in the past few years.  

Firstly, what it CAN'T be: 

- can't be a basic CRUD app - those will be free or get demolished by AI
- can't be Enterprise - I just don't have any desire to sit through eternal sales processes.  for better or worse I like the B2Prosumer space
- can't be too cheap - this is a tough one and honestly where we ended up kinda missing. 
- can't take more than a month to build. I built this entire product in about a month with Claude Code
- can't be mission critical. We're not building the next Stripe here.  Just too much pressure to be that close to customers money

Now, what it NEEDS to be: 

- 'adjacent' to our existing customer base and audience at Castos. Doesn't have to be directly in the podcasting space, but something that our customers/audience at Castos can relate to. I think Basecamp has done a great job at this.
- heavily AI enhanced.  Building non-AI SaaS these days is silly, and i'd never do it
- really sticky: one of the best traits of Castos from a business model perspective is that we have extremely low churn...makes everything about building the business easier. We've built a lot of this into the new product.
- in a growing market.  This is probably the most important.  Rising tides lifts all boats.  We nailed this one.
- Has network effect.  Did pretty good on this one, but not a 10/10.  This is what opens up FREE tiers
- Has a generous Free tier - this is something we intentionally don't have with Castos, and I think can be a big driver of growth. Free users you can market to FOREVER

I had one false start on the path to this new product, and the biggest lesson from it was this: 

+ Love the space you're building in +

I nailed this with Castos 8 years ago...podcasting is such a fun market.  And the new product is in a market I'm even more passionate about. 

On paper everything about this new product lines up so well with what we've already built with Castos, and I can't wait to share it with y'all.

I help companies build epic brands through video on YouTube, audio podcasts, and engaging social content. If you're tired of wondering where your next customers will come from, let's chat.

Ads coming to ChatGPT!!!

This is going to be the biggest marketing opportunity of the decade, if you do it right.  

Here's what you need to know:   

→ Ads will appear for free and Go tier users only  
→ Plus, Pro, and Enterprise users will stay ad-free  
→ Ads will appear at the bottom of responses
→ Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you 
→ Ads will be clearly labeled
→ No user data sold to advertisers  (for now)
→ No ads on sensitive topics (health, politics, mental health)  

Early on in every new marketing channel, there is a huge arbitrage opportunity.  

Remember FB ads from 2014?!  Many people got very rich then.

This could be exactly that same scenario.

(i don't love this for OpenAI though, it signals a very weak position to have to resort to ads to sustain their business model...once again i'd love to short OpenAI)

YouTube is hands down the best content channel for pretty much every brand these days.

It's video, which is tops in terms of format.

It's evergreen (some of my best videos today are from months ago)

It has an element of SEO and an element of algorithmic discovery - best parts of both worlds.

but it's really freaking hard.

My 100 Days Of AI almost killed me.

but i also grew my channel from 250 to 12,000+ subscribers

and along the way I've been pitched brand deals, I got monetized (making thousands in just Adsense revenue alone), and to some I'm not "The AI Guy".

And to consistently publish high quality videos that grow your channel, and resonate with your ideal viewers you need to do 3 things:

1. Come up with great ideas

Doing this from scratch is a fools errand.  All the best creators just "borrow" from what's working on other channels, and even in other niches.  Borrow what's working from a fishing channel on your AI channel - I guarantee the same video formats work across genres.

2. Packaging: Title & Thumbnail are 80% of the success

This used to mean hiring a copywriter and a graphic designer.  No more. We have studied millions of titles and thumbnails, and we know what works.  It's just a matter of adapting winning formulas and psychology to your channel, and your video.  All powered by AI, but of course.

3. Publishing consistently, forever

It's kind of a numbers game. If you publish once a month you're toast. If you go 100 days in a row you'll find some winners, and you'll learn what works and what doesn't.  But piecing together a handful of different tools is crazy - so we built all the best functionality into one place.

Outlier is the new product we at Castos are building, and it's honestly amazing.  I've been using it for my own content for the past few weeks, and got a 1/10 on my first video using it.

https://outlier.so

Outlier helps YouTube creators do these 3 things:

-> Come up with winning video ideas. 

We analyze your channel and different areas of inspiration to give you proven video ideas.

-> Clickworthy Title and Thumbnail. 

This is where YouTube success happens, and most creators are very below average at it.  We deliver incredible creatives, in just a click of a button.

-> Publish consistently, high quality content. 

We've brought the whole workflow together into a cohesive project management system for YouTube.  So you're not piecing together a dozen different tools, AI systems, and apps.

We're opening the early access waitlist today, and can't wait to share it with everyone.

https://outlier.so

Open article: Steal Like a Creator by outlier.so

Outlier dashboard showing video analytics and AI-generated ideas

taplio

The Battle

Harry Morton

Craig Hewitt

Followers

Posts

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Performance ScoreHarry Morton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCraig Hewitt's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Harry Morton

Craig Hewitt

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Harry Morton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCraig Hewitt's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreHarry Morton's LinkedIn Performance