Inspirational Christian Sermons, Biblical Teachings and Christian Discussions

HI! Introducing myself, I am a Bestselling Author/ Top-Ranking Podcaster/ TV and Youtube Speaker/ Evangelist/ Lifecoach/ Aerospace engineer/ Inspirational Speaker and Founder of John Giftah International. My Podcast, "Fuel for the Soul with John Giftah" is a compilation of my short inspirational sermons, Bible studies, and Christian Interviews/Discussions. Though my podcast is based on the 'Christianity' category and even ranks often as the #1 Christian podcast in India on multiple platforms and is among the top 2.5% podcasts in the world, anyone who wants some inspiration and encouragement will find my podcasts as a beacon of hope.

Well, that's an interesting story! The week I got my first smartphone in 2013, I got an idea of recording audio podcasts through the 'WhatsApp voice notes' tool while praying. I quickly created a WhatsApp group and started sending these podcasts DAILY (The truth is that I never knew that there was something called a 'podcast'; so I continued to call it 'audio sermons' for years. :) ) Initially, people laughed and mocked at my idea but as time went by, they were amazed at how these sermons reached hundreds of people daily and opened new doors for me to speak to thousands of people LIVE and on TV. I recently migrated the podcasts online and I am overwhelmed by the response so far. My desire is that it should inspire, encourage, exhort and help people across the globe.

I try to release a daily episode. Not only do I have a day job, but I am also running the 'John Giftah International' (an organization birthed to share the message of hope and goodness to humanity). So, I try to balance between the job, John Giftah International, my YouTube channel, Instagram presence, speaking engagements, and other endeavors (like my books, etc). So, it's a very tight spot for me, and I am still learning to balance effectively. Though I don't explicitly take a long time to record a podcast, I do spend a lot of time on the editing, marketing, description/SEO part of it (The same goes with YouTube). For the time being, I myself fund 90 percent of my expenses (podcast/youtube, etc); Sometimes, people send me donations towards my ministry.

Currently, my main focus is on branching out and spreading my podcasts to as many people as possible. I am hoping that this, in turn, will open new doors of opportunity for me as a preacher/speaker and can eventually help me financially either directly or indirectly (book sales, etc.). I haven't received any sponsorship or revenue so far. I am open to it, but I am not sure how to go about it. My podcast started climbing the charts a little over a month ago and has consistently been on the top few ranks (As of today, my podcast has been at #1 position every day of this week and has juggled between the top 2 ranks under Christianity category.

Most of my podcasts are of the solo type. So, I just have to set up the microphone and record once I am ready with a sermon. Then, I take the time to edit the file, work on the description, SEO, hashtags, etc. and release the episode. I also record 59-second audios for the audiograms. When I interview guests, I usually do a LIVE on YouTube with them using Streamyard and then take the audio from the video, edit it for the podcast and follow the same process to release the episode.

As soon as I release a new episode, I share it through the 'John Giftah International' WhatsApp community, my social media feeds, and so on.
I also make a quote poster (main quote from my episode) and/or audiogram of the episode and share it around.
I regularly check my analytics, the ranking on the charts, etc. to look for ways to work on the SEO and the content, based on the data.

My main advice would be to be as consistent as possible on your podcast. Whether you are releasing a daily episode or a weekly one, be CONSISTENT.
Secondly, don't give up when you are not seeing the results that you were hoping for. Sometimes, the people we expect to stand by, support, listen and share our podcasts might let us down. But, keep it going and I am sure that you will find your audience. In my case, most of my podcast listeners are not even people I know (from several other countries) and only a small number of listeners are actually people in my circle (friends/family, etc). So, don't be discouraged. Keep doing your best and the right people will find your content.
Lastly, as much as it's important to record and release podcasts consistently, don't forget to work on the channel art, description (SEO), and the marketing aspect of the podcast episodes.

You can check out my website https://www.johngiftah.com/ which acts as a one-stop destination for all my endeavors. You can also follow me on Instagram (www.instagram.com/johngiftah) and check out my YouTube videos here: www.youtube.com/johngiftah You can reach me through social media or by dropping a mail to jgi@johngiftah.com If you'd like to donate towards my work, this is my PayPal link: paypal.me/johngiftah